Politicians glommed on to the issue of income inequality in 2019 and they will remain focused on it during 2020. They can do nothing about it, but when a minority is rich and a majority is not the disparity makes for a solidly populist political manifesto. As noted by Robert Samuelson in the Washington Post, most Americans are experiencing income gains. Notably, the increases are symmetrical (not equal) across income brackets, with the exception being the poorest quintile that is slightly outpacing the second quintile in gains due to government transfers. Frustrated with the sole use of income as a measurement of success, Europe led the OECD’s construct of a Better Life Index, encompassing data on the environment, education, c...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.