DINKS, Deconstruction, and Decentralized Finance: Trends for 2024

From time to time, it is important for us to take a step back and get a good sense of the big picture - the macroeconomic trends and forces of culture that will end up trickling down and affecting our businesses and ministries. As 2023 winds to a close, we’d like to examine 3 big ideas that show signs of significant impact on our respective bottom lines in 2024 and beyond.

DINKs – The slow movement towards an aging population, niche youth culture, and small-scale consumerism

The United States’ fertility rate dropped to an all-time low in 2020 (1.64 births/woman), and though it has technically increased (1.67 births/woman) since then, the larger trend does seem to indicate further stagnation or perhaps even decline. With the replacement rate sitting at 2.1 births/woman, we find ourselves in a situation where the population is going to continue getting older in 2024, and possibly beyond. With a median age of 38.9, and 10,000 individuals hitting retirement age each year, we are on our way to a situation where most Boomers will be retired by 2030 – and eligible for Social Security and Medicare.

That puts a large strain on the US economy, which already dedicates about 5% of GDP and nearly half of the entire federal budget to Social Security and Medicaid. In 2024 and continuing forward, the solvency issues of these programs (and the resulting pressure on the economy) is going to increase.

So what does this mean?…

Stocks continue to rise, as investors are increasingly convinced that the Fed will cut interest rates in 2024, even while the Fed cautions that rate cuts are not imminent and that the market has jumped ahead of the policymakers. Unemployment slid down to 3.7% in November, meanwhile, some analysts forecast up to a 2.6% YoY GDP growth for Q4 of this year while also predicting two consecutive quarters of negative growth in 2024…

Media sentiment seems to be shifting on the Hamas-Israeli war, as outlets like CNN now frame the conflict in terms of a “Humanitarian Crisis” for Gaza instead of a war on terrorism, the UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly for a ceasefire resolution, and the Pope called a recent military action by the IDF “terrorism.” Meanwhile, the IDF states that it has been extremely cautious in avoiding civilian casualties, successful in killing thousands of terrorists, and now working to finish its campaign rooting out Hamas in Southern Gaza as they look ahead to the next phase of the conflict…

Christmas is upon us again, and in only 5 days people around the world will celebrate Christ’s birth with gift-giving, carols, feasts, and family. We’ll be taking a one-week break from the newsletter, so don’t be alarmed when you don’t see S2W in your inbox next Wednesday, December 27th, but we will be back in your inbox with our in-depth analysis, hard-hitting op-eds, and news from a Christian perspective on January 3rd…

Your weekly chance to test your Bible knowledge! The answer to today’s question may surprise you:

Q: Who baptized Jesus?

Answer at the bottom

TIPS & TRICKS

How to Climb the Corporate Ladder

with Marcel Becker

Nobody likes to be stuck.

Maybe you’re in a role where you’re stuck with work that feels insignificant, and you’d like to tackle bigger, more important projects. Maybe you’ve been working the same job for some years and you think you deserve an increase in pay, responsibility, and respect. Or maybe you’re trying to mentor someone who’s young and ambitious, and you’d like to help them figure out how to navigate their organization.

There’s no reason to lose hope. Our faith teaches us about Joseph, who climbed out of slavery and became the second most powerful man in Egypt, because of his “excellent spirit,” and Daniel, a prisoner of war, who became the most trusted advisor in all of Babylon and later Persia because of his “excellent spirit.” But what does it mean to have an excellent spirit? And how do we apply these principles to the modern world of work to climb the corporate ladder to success?…

• Google agrees to pay a $700 million settlement and make changes to its Google Play app store.

• Existing home sales fell to a 13-year low recently, sending ripples through related industries.

• At Pope Francis’ direction, the Catholic Church may now bless same-sex unions, in a move that has angered conservative Catholics and many Protestants.

• A new study demonstrates that Tesla has the highest rate of accidents of any car brand.

• The VR market continues to shrink, even as Meta injects billions.