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May 22, 2023 • Issue 23:05:02

Advisory Board
Advisory Board

Navigating through turbulent times

Benjamin Abel
Bank Associates Merchant Services
1. Are we doomed to repeat a cycle of boom and bust in-
definitely, or can we learn from our mistakes and make
adjustments to limit volatility going forward?

While it is true that we have seen boom and bust cycles
throughout history, it is also true that we can learn from
our mistakes and make adjustments to limit volatility
going forward. This requires a concerted effort on the
part of policymakers, businesses and individuals to be
more mindful of the risks and potential downsides of
economic growth.

One way to limit volatility is to focus on building more
sustainable economic models that are less reliant on
ecent failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature growth at any cost. This might mean adopting more
Bank and others roiled global banking. In the responsible business practices, promoting more equitable
aftermath, swift action was taken to stave off
R more failures, but some businesses fear we're wealth distribution, and investing in sustainable
technologies and infrastructure.
headed toward a crisis akin to the recession of 2008, dot-
com bubble burst of 2000, stagflation in the 1970s or the It may also mean being more mindful of the potential
stock market crash of 1929 that precipitated the Great risks of financial speculation and taking steps to regulate
Depression. the financial sector more effectively.

Rampant speculation, unsustainable growth and
inadequate regulation are said to have contributed to prior
economic woes. When the economy is booming, people Contributed articles inside by:
tend to assume the good times will continue indefinitely,
which leads them to take unwarranted risks. When the
economy struggles, people become frightened and can Todd Pollak .............................................................................................17
overreact.
Nick Cuuci................................................................................................28
With that in mind, we queried members of our advisory Elie Y. Katz ...............................................................................................30
board for their views on our recurring boom and bust
cycles, how to learn from the past, actions business owners David Mainayar .....................................................................................34
can take to weather difficult times, and how people can
communicate effectively across today's deep divides.
Following are responses we received.
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