John Manzella

Global Risks, New Realities, and Ripple Effects



The United States and Europe face many critical risks and realities that are shaping our future. These include:

• rising trade protectionism, Chinese challenges, supply chain concerns, the direction of globalization, and the need to achieve access to the world’s 8 billion consumers;
• demographic shifts, worsening labor shortages, immigration concerns, and the need to automate; and
• rising inequality, growing populism, divisive polarization, threats to capitalism, and the need for balance.

What should we do? This engaging program explores these issues, cuts through the clutter, and offers strategies to navigate the dangers ahead. Plus, it connects the dots between declining fertility rates and living standards, examines the Brexit blunder, and reveals Chinese dangers, unmasks Chinese vulnerabilities, and delves into its unsustainable trajectory.

Economic Trends, Global Trade, Labor and What’s Ahead

Pandemic-related realities and the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war continue to impact the U.S. and global economy, while complexities with China add new risks. Combined with the energy revolution, shifting demographics, and challenges with the USMCA and Europe, these issues are shaping our future. What does this mean to you? This invaluable program analyzes economic trends, examines trading relationships, reveals Chinese dangers, and explores critical issues involving labor, skills, automation, and immigration. Additionally, it offers survival strategies and provides insight on what’s ahead.

This popular program covers four important areas that impact each other:

• Macroeconomics: GDP forecast, long term economic risks, factors impacting growth and inflation, energy, housing, global GDP, and country forecasts, etc.
• Labor: unemployment forecasts, shifting demographics, worsening labor shortages, falling participation levels and reasons, strategies to attract and retain labor, automation, immigration, etc.
• Trade and globalization: the direction of globalization, impact on industry and workers, USMCA, Europe and Brexit, emphasis on China’s direction, decoupling prospects, Chinese risks and challenges, etc.
• Capitalism is being threatened: The need to maintain reasonable tax rates is necessary in order to incentivize entrepreneurs to take risk, while generating enough revenue to help stabilize or prevent the continued erosion of the U.S. middle class (similar situation around the globe). As the middle class erodes, voters tend to support populists on the far right and left. In both cases, capitalism is at risk.

American Realities, Critical Risks and Survival Strategies

The key to American free-market capitalism lies in our ability to innovate new products and services and deliver them worldwide. This requires pro-trade policies, an educated labor force, and an environment that incentivizes entrepreneurs to take risks that create new companies, technologies, and jobs. However, critical risks stand in the way.

• New technologies and globalization have tremendously improved our standard of living, but many have been left behind that support far left and right populists who may ultimately threaten capitalism.
• Unless addressed, shifting demographics will translate into fewer consumers and worsening labor shortages.
• The pandemic, Russian war, and Chinese tensions have forced companies to continually assess risks that impact supply chains and globalization.

This stimulating and insightful program explores these issues, analyzes economic trends, delves into labor and Chinese challenges, and provides strategies to prepare for what’s ahead.

Economic Trends, Globalization and the Need to Improve American Capitalism

Rising protectionism, populism and inequality, along with economic trends and the lessons of Covid-19, are having a profound impact on the United States, globalization and American capitalism. Plus, skills deficits, immigration issues, and tensions with China are severely affecting industry. In addition, advances in automation and digitalization, and the need for lifelong learning are adding greater complexity. This thought-provoking program peers into the chain reactions of what’s unfolding, reveals the myths and realities of globalization, and examines the need to improve American capitalism so we don’t lose it.