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In 1980, the largest company in America was IBM. Twenty years later, in 2000, IBM had slid far from the top and was replaced by the likes of General Electric, Exxon, Pfizer, Citigroup, and Walmart. Today, the top five are Apple, Microsoft, Google’s parent Alphabet, Amazon, and Nvidia. I point this out because of the dynamic nature of the business community.
We oftentimes think of “big changes” happening to small companies, and it’s true, that happens. But large companies are not immune from major change born out of technology and innovation, market conditions, and more. If you have been in the workforce awhile (wink, wink), you’ll recall how Kodak, the inventor of the first digital camera, missed the digital photography revolution because they feared it would cannibalize its film business. Anybody remember Blockbuster? They didn’t make the consumer market transition from physical rentals to streaming and lost out to Netflix and Redbox. Yahoo is another example. They passed on opportunities to acquire Google and Facebook, and as a result, the evolution of the internet passed them by. Think also about Nokia (the biggest cell phone manufacturer at one time), Sears, Circuit City, and Radio Shack. I could go on.
The larger point is this: everything, including our laws and regulations enacted decades ago, needs review too. Things change, and sometimes change a whole lot. The year 2025 is likely to be the first year in our history in which the U.S. population actually declines. What that means for tax revenues and spending on programs that were built for larger and forever growing populations is now no longer the reality.
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