Juggling Dynamite

Corporations have been having it all their way for a long time now cutting their costs by creatively reducing payroll expenses, under-funding employee pension and benefit programs, maximizing tax loopholes and not being held responsible for the full cost of the social and environmental harm they are inflicting on things like public health, government safety nets, water and air pollution, carbon emissions.

Trouble is, neither business owners nor labor can have it all their way forever. Pendulums swing back, and financial engineering notwithstanding, eventually sales need consumers and consumers can’t live on credit forever–eventually they need more income and savings to make ends meet. Until consumer debt levels are reduced and household savings are rebuilt in the economy on higher disposable cash flow (through higher wages and benefits and/or lower living expenses), consumption will be weak, and corporate and government finances under increasing pressure.  See more here:  Why jobs, wages and savings mean weaker profits.  Weak wage growth has North Americans saving less. That can’t go on forever:

Without solid wage increases, Americans are maintaining their spending by saving far less than previously thought. Last week’s gross domestic product report showed that personal saving rate—money saved as a share of after-tax income—came to just 3.8% in the second quarter, while the first-quarter saving rate was revised to 3.9% from 5.1%. Up until a year ago, the rate was hovering between 5% and 6%.

…the declining savings rate shows that jobs growth only goes so far. Without wage growth, U.S. companies may struggle to increase their sales.

The alternative is that employers, responding to a tighter labor market, start paying employees more, giving them the wherewithal to spend more. That would increase labor costs and, with companies struggling to find new ways to increase productivity, likely put further pressure on profit margins.

The worst scenario for profits is that wages go up but people put their raises in the bank until their savings rate returns to levels that prevailed until about a year ago. That might actually count as a welcome long-term development for the economy, but for corporate bottom lines, not so much.

Good rational discussion in this clip. Financial common sense is such a rare gem these days.

To keep you from being house-poor, I’m giving you some information-rich thinking with a little math and a lot of logic. These five steps and one spreadsheet could save you much money and a lot of grief when looking to buy a home. Also, check out my segment with CBC’s On The Money for my words in action.  Here is a direct video link.

In a coffee shop yesterday, we overheard another accountant pitching their client on money management services through a Bay Street firm.  We have heard many anecdotes and complaints from people across the country about the aggressive cross-selling of accounting/legal/investment services this cycle.  It seems that many accountants and estate lawyers have signed on as sales people for some of the larger investment management franchises.

In this fee sharing frenzy, the clients are suffering from a lack of unbiased advice: bearing the cost of both higher risk and fees as the accountants and lawyers add their investment advisor cuts.  To try and justify the higher costs amid low yields, these teams of ‘advisors’ are recommending the clients take on high risk weightings for their savings.  All very complex and sophisticated sounding.  But only in form rather than substance.

When the next bear market devours hard-earned savings once more, the lawyers and accountants who have added their professional weight in persuading long-always-risk exposure should be sued along with the self-serving financial advisors and managers who have chosen to put their own income collection ahead of the best interests of their clients.  Litigation lawyers should next be due for a profitable run. Unfortunately, many clients will never make up the lost money, time and mental anguish.  All of this should be barred by ethics and regulation of course, but the finance/professional services lobby has been writing the rules.

For more on this see:  Beware of accountants offering harmful investment advice and Beware of your accountant?