Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/990149
palletcentral.com PalletCentral • May-June 2018 37 finances and pay its bills. Currently, six percent of the federal budget goes to interest and as this share rises in the future, the money will have to come from – or out of – somewhere. Interest rates are going to double. Current interest rates – which are hovering near 1.5 percent – are historically low. The Fed has plans to increase rates over the next two years to as much as 3 percent as the economy continues to grow. Three percent is still pretty low. But it's also a doubling of rates in a relatively short time period. This may be good for the banking industry, but it will certainly cause many businesses to re-evaluate their budgets and take proactive steps to lock in rates and secure financing as quickly as possible. A budget item that doubles is a concern for any manager trying to control cash and deciding where to invest money and an interest rate increase may very well eat into the tax reform benefits that businesses are expecting. Workplace issues continue to drive up costs. "Finding and keeping good employees is the number one challenge we're hearing from our members," Sullivan said. "This challenge is going to continue into the foreseeable future." A tight labor market is making it harder to get good, skilled people and its effects are just beginning to drive up wages. In addition, many regions around the country are raising minimum wages and the federal government may do the same in the next year or two (the Trump administration supports an increase from the current $7.25 per hour to somewhere around $10-11 per hour). The Department of Labor is planning on increasing the wages where certain salaried workers are entitled to overtime. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is continuing its busy schedule of pursuing companies that are discriminating or harassing minorities. None of this is bad news for the employee and most employers I know are sympathetic. But costs are costs, and the increased scrutiny on workplace issues – from office romances, questioning salary history, drug testing and hiring practices – adds another regulatory (and financial burden) to a company. No one, not even Sullivan, predicts an end to this trend anytime soon. Markets are unstable. The rise and fall of markets has an enormous impact on the psyche of consumers. When stocks are up and stable people feel wealthier and are more willing to open up their pocketbooks. Fluctuations create uncertainty and hold back buying. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of uncertainty over the past few months, with the Dow Jones rising and falling by hundreds of iStockphoto.com/leolintang