I don’t normally talk about my job or my employer – a large engineering firm – but I thought the letter from the company’s President on the new fiscal year was very interesting for this paragraph:
Looking ahead, fiscal 2017 will not be any easier. This is not so much about us. We are doing fine, our customers like us, innovation and productivity are good. It’s more about what I would summarize as “geopolitical issues”: the rise of populism and nationalism, global migration, war and terror in some regions of the world, as well as uncertainties about what impact the Fourth Industrial Revolution will have. These developments do not help create an environment that encourages investment and expansion.
(My bold.)
Mr. Trump and President Duterte in the Philippines are consummate populists. It’s good to see at least one company willing to stand up and call them out for being disruptive and bad for the economy – because they’re bad for social stability – even if it’s only to their employees.
