Writer: Jerrica DuBois
3 min read November 2023 — The new economy, or the “next economy,” will require flexibility and an understanding of the “new world,” according to Oliver Gilbert, chairman of the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners, speaking at the World Strategic Forum.
“It’s not a new economy, it’s the next economy,” said Gilbert, a participant in Forum’s first panel. “Fundamentally, that’s what we’re learning right now. It’s going to teach us how to be flexible. It starts with our mindset. We have to understand that it’s actually a new world. We have to find ways to make it smaller and bigger at the same time, because we know that’s where our growth is going to be. It’s about being flexible and having an imagination.”
Mastering the New Economy was the theme of this year’s Forum. Hosted by the FIU Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom and held at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, attendees got to hear from over 100 speakers over a two-day period.
After a welcome from Bill Johnson, co-president of World Strategic Forum, the first panel was moderated by Kristine Aquino, managing editor at Bloomberg. Bearing the same Mastering the New Economy title as the conference theme, the panel covered several elements that impact the economic landscape, including inflation, a key challenge of the current economy.
While inflation is down in comparison to 2021 and 2022, according to the U.S. inflation calculator, it still continues to make an impact on the economy and the everyday life of the consumer. Thomas Warsop, president and CEO of ACI Worldwide, broke down how the inflation challenges came about.
“It’s been so long since the United States had inflation that it came as a shock,” said Warsop. “There’s been a lot of dissecting of ‘what happened’ and ‘how did we get here?’ I think it’s super simple, but the reality is hard. The pandemic happened and supply got slashed because everyone thought the world was coming to an end. Everybody stopped making things because they thought no one was going to buy anything. Then a bunch of money got shoved into the market. Now have a very low supply with a high ability to purchase. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out inflation is coming ”
The panel also discussed how technology and innovation has impacted how the world operates. As more and more information is available to consumers, it also has its pitfalls. According to Gilbert, technology and innovation is unstoppable. Doris Meister, chairman and CEO of Wilmington Trust Corporation, added that while technology has ushered in improvements for operations and processes, it’s important for consumers to have an understanding of the information that’s now readily available to them.
“Technology has enabled us to add a new dimension to our client interaction and client service,” said Meister. “But I think it’s very dangerous. There’s a reason why the editor role exists. The editor role serves as a quality control, and right now there is no editor on the internet. I essentially think research is good. Being knowledgeable is good. But you have to know who to listen to and you have to know how to process the information you are getting.”
As the panel began to wind down, the conversation turned toward some of the challenges being faced in the workforce, specifically when it comes to the return to office. The current U.S. office vacancy rate is 16.1%, which has steadily risen from 11.5% since the beginning of COVID in 1Q20. Gilbert pointed out how employees working from home not only impacts the company they work for, but the surrounding businesses, such as restaurants that no longer have those same employees spending money with them. Businesses are even closing up shop, and according to Warsop, there’s no turning back the clock to employees working a traditional 9 to 5.
“There is no way to go back to the way it was,” Warsop stated. “You’re talking about office buildings sitting empty. I’ve had customers say that they are forcing everyone to come back to the office five days a week. I can’t think of a company (for which) that has worked, because that’s not what our talent wants.”
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