6A - Identifying Opportunities In Economic And Regulatory Trends

6A - Identifying Opportunities In Economic And Regulatory Trends 

Economic Trend 1: Climate Change Is Causing More Natural Disasters

• Source: https://www.thebalance.com/top-usa-future-economic-trends-3305666
• I believe climate change is increasing every year due to many factors and there is an opportunity here to make people more aware of this and we could inform them of ways to stop the increase in climate change.
• The U.S. climate is changing as a result of global warming caused by an increase of greenhouse gases. Temperatures are rising causing food prices to increase because harvest foods cannot grow in such high heat. Climate change also creates unpredictable violent storms, droughts, and floods. Rising sea-levels creates worse flooding in low-lying places, such as Florida. Also, wild fires in the west of the U.S. have increased a significant amount in the last 40 years. 
• The customer with this opportunity is everyone! We all can make a difference in climate change if we use less greenhouse gases, stop littering, stop polluting our environment, and stop killing so many animals. Every little thing we do in our everyday lives affects climate change. 
• I think this opportunity to turn climate change around will be very difficult to exploit due to the fact a lot of people do not believe in climate change including our president Donald Trump.
• Some individuals might not form this belief of an opportunity existing because like I had mentioned, people are oblivious to climate change. I am sure some people feel the same way I do on this subject but not everyone. I think I feel this way because as I've grown up I have noticed the climate changing every year. From what I see in my everyday life and on the news there are more storms, fires, floods, and hotter summers every year.

Economic Trend 2: Financial Markets Control Oil, Gas, And Food Prices

• Source: https://www.thebalance.com/top-usa-future-economic-trends-3305666
• I see an opportunity here to bring back company's and client's control of prices. Prices should be controlled by supply and demand and the company supplying us with the products should have control of prices.
• Unfortunately, supply and demand have become significantly less important in controlling prices. Commodities traders are now setting prices for oil, gas, and food. Meanwhile foreign exchange traders are determining the value of the U.S. dollar bill. 
• The customer with the opportunity here is the government and the company that is supplying the product and/or services. 
• I think this opportunity will be difficult to exploit due to the fact it would change everything. It would change imports and exports, company's value, the way the government runs things, and it would change investors perspectives and they made decide not to invest anymore. 
• I see this opportunity where as others may not because I don't think many people care, they think prices are prices and theres no way to change it. I believe the people who are supplying us with oil, gas, and food should be deciding the price at which they want to sell it. Prices should not be controlled from outside sources, such as commodity traders and foreign exchange traders.

Regulatory Trend 1: Paid sick leave and minimum wage policies at local and state levels

• Source: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7671-regulatory-issues-changes.html
• Though raising minimum wage and enforcing paid sick leave have become a bigger concern over the years there is still no law stating these things are mandatory. 
• Paid leave bills have been introduced to congress but they are unlikely to gain recognition by any of the Republican party. No matter how big or small the business, most employers want to form a workplace that supports their employees in time of need. Although, for entrepreneurs and small businesses paid sick leave creates a huge risk, it would require them to change their planning and budgeting. 
• I believe the customer of this opportunity would be our government and our tax money. A portion of government funds and tax money should be given towards paid sick leave so entrepreneurs and small businesses can still thrive. There should be a government law stating that minimum wage needs to be a higher amount due to every product/service price going up every year. People can not afford what they need to survive off a minimum wage salary.
• I think this opportunity will be difficult to exploit because no one wants to put forth the money to be able to offer paid sick leave and the government seems to not want to raise minimum wage salary.
• I see this to be a great opportunity to help employees out in time of need and allow minimum wage salary workers to be able to afford things they need in their every day lives, whereas others might see it as a waste of money and that these sick people should have to deal with it on their own. I see myself to be a very caring person of the people around me and I always want to help out others when needed so that is why I formed this belief of opportunity.

Regulatory Trend 2: Moving Toward A Cleaner Grid

• Source: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/top-10-utility-regulation-trends-of-2018-so-far#gs.zbRvFQI
• Reading this article made me realize there is many things we are in the midst of doing to create a cleaner atmosphere.
• More utilities are announcing coal plant retirements and there has been large investments in renewable energy. There has been more than $10 billion of new investments towards renewable energy, due to falling costs, strengthened state energy and environmental policies, and increased desire from customers to obtain items that have renewable energy. California, Virginia, Idaho, Arizona, Michigan, and Colorado are just a few states that have begun working towards a cleaner environment.
• The customer with this opportunity to work towards a cleaner environment is everyone! Like I had previously mentioned when talking about climate change, it is the power of the people in our country to work towards saving our planet. 
• I believe this opportunity to be relatively easy to exploit because I think most people want our country to be cleaner than it has been in past years. We need to preserve our resources and energy for the future generations.
• I am happy to say more people are starting to realize the importance of a clean environment. I think this article presented an opportunity to me that other people may not see because I highly believe in keeping our planet green. Some people are just careless towards our environment because they are too caught up in their lives to care about preserving our planet, but as a 21 year old looking to grow up and start a family within the next 10 or 20 years I am concerned for future generations.