Finding Financial Success, and Capitalizing On Economic Growth, Through Pro-Growth Work Environments

​The economy is either growing or shrinking, doing good or bad.  When the economy is doing bad, the political world always talks about fixing it as the business world slashes costs.  When the economy is doing good, the political world always talks about accelerating growth while businesses “reinvest” to streamline their operations to make them more “efficient.”  There is often a great deal of talk about job creation and tax cuts, but politicians and businessmen rarely act to improve the financial wellbeing of the Middle Class and poor.  Despite decent economic growth under the Obama Administration and Trump Administration, coupled with tax breaks that offer few direct benefits to most people, there is no major effort to address the financial needs of the majority.

​The blunt truth is that most national economies and the global economy are tooled to serve those who control the greatest amount of resources.  The wealthiest of people and organizations are the ones who continually benefit the most from economic expansion.  As property values rise, investments increase in value, and businesses rack in additional revenue, those who own assets are the ones who will benefit from economic growth.  Those who do not will only see benefits in the form of a paycheck, if they see any benefit.  The opportunity to work is certainly a blessing.  The cost of living is, however, always rising while the ability to build a comfortable lifestyle and save for retirement depends on the ability to grow one’s income.  It depends on the ability to benefit from economic growth.
 
Unfortunately, wage and income growth are often slow, if not static.  When viewed in terms of a lifespan and increasing costs, wage and income growth are often way too slow.  Because the economy and world are far from static, anyone who is not progressing is regressing.  This is, of course, a personal problem, not an issue politicians and businessmen are going to champion.  People must be their own advocates when it comes to their financial wellbeing.  That said, it is important recognize affluent individuals, businesses, and organizations spend millions upon millions of dollars to lobby government, because they want the rules of the economy, which are shaped by public policies, to both address their interests and favor them.
 
What the influential do is create an economic environment where they can be successful.  They create an economy that provides them opportunities they can capitalize on.  This is why average people need to participate in government through civil engagement and pressure their representatives in government to pursue public policies that cultivate an economic environment beneficial to average people.  Public policies need to foster the creation of opportunities for the vast majority of people and help average people access opportunities.  It is important to remember, however, the influential do not simply rely on government to help them succeed.  They use government to help create an economic regime that will allow to succeed.  Average people cannot, therefore, rely on government alone to help them succeed.
 
Businesses can only succeed when they operate in environments that afford them opportunities to succeed and grow.  Businesses are successful when they are able to provide services that address the needs or wants of their customers.  When the environment changes with time, they must also change by seeking out new opportunities and abandoning old ones.  Whether a business owner or employee, everyone needs to seek opportunities to succeed and grow.  Unfortunately, people can only grow as much as their work environments allow them to grow.  Talents, training, personal merit, and hard work are important ingredients for success, but an employee can only grow as much as his industry, employer, and boss will allow him to grow.  Consequently, success depends on the ability of an individual to find an pro-growth work environment.
 
Unfortunately, a great number of people struggle to access available jobs and other financial opportunities that will allow them to grow.  There are those who make the choice to stay in a restrictive work environment for emotional or personal reasons, but there are a great number of people who simply cannot access environments where they can succeed and grow.  This is an issue for government and businesses, because a healthy economy depends upon a financially healthy population and business growth depends upon employees.  Government can help by providing resources needed to connect employers to potential employees.  Businesses can help by adopting a pro-growth mentality when it comes to their employees.  This means embracing hiring, training, pay, and promoting practices that allow employees to grow with the business.