WEBVTT - Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend-February 19, 2021 0:00:01.080 --> 0:00:05.440 This is Bloomberg Business Week inside from the reporters and 0:00:05.600 --> 0:00:09.200 editors who bring you America's most trusted business magazine, plus 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:13.160 global business finance and tech news as it happened. Bloomberg 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:16.759 Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes. Tim 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:21.800 Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. Hiom, Carol Masser, and I'm Tim Stanovik. 0:00:21.920 --> 0:00:24.840 Welcome to the weekend edition of Bloomberg Business Week. Tim 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:27.400 week forty nine working from home still for many we 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:29.720 were mostly in the office of those snow kind of 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:32.200 set me home and you home a little bit as well. 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:34.720 It's a week though, where we saw stocks hitting records 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:37.920 and then backing off, Bitcoin taking out one record after another. 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:40.440 We did get some upbeat news and COVID cases, but 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:44.080 that was a little bit overshadowed by reports about inequities 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:46.360 of the vaccine rollout. That was just some of our 0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:49.400 backdrop this week as we talked with all of our guests. Yeah, 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:51.400 it was a busy week and it included the president 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.600 of Impossible Foods. The company is cutting prices on quote 0:00:54.680 --> 0:00:57.360 unquote me you know, put that in quotes because it's 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:01.200 not actually mean by as much as twenty percent Also 0:01:01.360 --> 0:01:02.960 we caught up at the former editor in chief of 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:04.720 The Financial Times. He's got a new book out. It's 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:07.760 called The Powerful and the Damn Private Diaries Into Turbulent Times. 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:10.840 He has seen so much and he's written about it. 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:14.840 Plus Mackenzie Scott, the former Mrs Jeff Bezos and how 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:18.839 her big giveaway is transforming the family. Fortune's really changing 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:20.959 so much. They're all of that to come to him, though. 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:23.720 We begin with Dr Alaja Day Williams, Chief of Staff 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:27.520 of Neurology over at Columbia University. He's an NIH funded researcher, 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:31.560 a leaning health disparities expert with research focused on community 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:35.279 based behavioral interventions. He's also the founder, president in board 0:01:35.280 --> 0:01:37.920 share of Hip Hop Public Health. By the way, Bloomberg 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:41.679 Philanthropies provided a granted Hip Hop Public Health. We began 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:44.320 by talking about what he's seeing in terms of cases 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:46.959 and getting the vaccine out to the people who need it. 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:50.560 The good news is that you know, we all seeing 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:55.600 um we're all seeing you know, the rates of COVID 0:01:55.680 --> 0:02:00.640 in patients trickled down. Um our admission rate called down, 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:04.960 and we've been seeing that slowly but steadily. It's it's 0:02:04.960 --> 0:02:08.600 a it's a it's a welcome relief given uh you know, 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:11.240 my experience on the front lines at the height of 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:16.239 the pandemic when it took uh New York City by surprise. UM. 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:20.239 But on on on another front, UM, I'm actually very 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:27.800 very concerned about about the vaccine coverage UM situation. UM 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:30.840 as you as you lead with in in this segment, 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:36.399 there are striking disparities, um again afflicting those who are 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:42.120 suffer suffer the most community of color, poor neighborhoods, uh, 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:47.040 disenfranchised Americans. They're the ones, really who have born the 0:02:47.120 --> 0:02:50.760 brunt of the COVID death and morbidity rates. And and 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:56.000 they're the ones now UM really UM really, you know, 0:02:56.440 --> 0:03:01.119 really not being engaged sufficiently uh in off and and 0:03:01.560 --> 0:03:05.520 you know, sadily enough um too, you know in a 0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:09.800 way that they would enable increased uptake of the vaccine. 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:13.080 You know, we we have to earn back trust, Kim 0:03:13.120 --> 0:03:16.280 and Carol. UM. You know, trust was broken over hundreds 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:20.600 and hundreds of years of you know, of quite frankly 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:25.280 systemic inequities and structural racism and um and great mistrust 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:28.360 with the medical community. And we're seeing those effects now. 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:31.600 So we have to be more creative, and we have 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:35.280 to be more purposeful uh to earn back the trust 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:37.720 of these communities so that we can get back to 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:40.240 the nation coverage rate stuff. Because the bottom line is 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:44.360 we're all in this together and and we we are 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:47.960 all connected, and if one link in this chain UH 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:51.520 is not strong, then um, we won't be able to, 0:03:51.680 --> 0:03:54.160 you know, climb our way out of this pandemic. Let's 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:57.360 talk about your website and and this organization that you've created, 0:03:57.400 --> 0:03:59.720 hip Hop Public Health. It's very cool. I was watching 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:03.440 video US last night about HIV and eating healthy and 0:04:03.480 --> 0:04:05.480 you guys do it in a fun way. I mean, 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:08.400 it's hip hop, it's a song, it's got lyrics, but 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:10.720 it's also got really strong messages that I think and 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:13.840 I'm assuming really stay with people. Tell me about this 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:16.440 organization and the impact that you that you find that 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:20.320 it's having and really reaching people. Sure, thank you. So, 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:22.640 you know, hip Hop Public Health was really borne out 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:27.120 of my frustration with the traditional public health messages in 0:04:27.160 --> 0:04:30.279 the black community. I felt that the penetration of the 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:34.520 public health communication campaigns wasn't really sufficient and a lot 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:37.719 of the work we did working directly with community with 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:42.960 community members confirmed uh, this really poor translation of public 0:04:42.960 --> 0:04:46.000 health into the community. And they really came up with 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:48.960 the suggestions for us to use a new model, and 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:51.039 hip hop really made a lot of sense, and it 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:54.160 was really pushed and promoted by the youth that we 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:57.320 were engaging around how best to do this. You know, 0:04:57.640 --> 0:05:02.080 as a neurologist, Kim and Carol, I'm also um really 0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:05.560 interested in music and it's roll in the brains. You know, 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.239 a lot of people don't realize that that music actually 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:12.680 occupies more real estate, more neural real estate in our 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:17.479 brains than language itself. You know, music, music augments learning, 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:23.000 it's it's it augments our memories. Music, it creates positive associations. 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:26.680 You know, music increases our attention to Music has such 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:31.560 powerful neurological uh strength and attributes that you know, it's 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:33.760 one of the reasons why if you think about how 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:36.520 we learned our abcs, we learned it to through song. 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:39.280 If you think about movies that we watch, right, if 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:42.120 the thing about Dark Vada, right, you know, he's imminent. 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:45.360 You know he's about to approach those emotions start rousing 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:47.479 as soon as you hear that that music. If you 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:51.080 think about Rocky the Rocky the Rocky series. You think 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:53.440 about that music that's played and how it connects with 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:56.080 your emotion and want it motivates you to go that 0:05:56.120 --> 0:05:58.360 extra mile when you're on the treadmill. You know, music 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:02.360 has such powerful, powerful features. And even as a neurologist 0:06:02.720 --> 0:06:05.160 looking at the stroke patients, we use a form of 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:09.520 musical music information therapy to help patients speak again, use 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:12.800 it in our nursing home to deal with agitation amongst dementia. 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:16.440 So our our position and hip hop public health is 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:20.640 that music has an incredibly transformative power right needs to 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:23.839 be better better leverage within public health. That was Dr 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:27.080 Alaga Day Williams, Chief of Staff of Neurology at Columbia 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:29.560 University talking about so much in that interview. For the 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:32.320 entire interview, check out the podcast and you loved and 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:34.479 we both love where he talked about the importance of 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:37.320 music therapy. I've I've read about this and the impact 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:39.920 that that can have on people with some severe injury, 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:43.160 especially neurological ones. Yeah, that was just fascinating me. This 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:46.360 is a medical doctor, somebody who studies neurology talking about 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:50.200 the importance of music in recovery and association as well. 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:53.920 A really important interview coming up. From getting vaccines to minorities, 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:57.040 something Dr Williams also talked about, to providing funding to 0:06:57.160 --> 0:07:00.000 black and brown entrepreneurs. The founder and CEO of Black 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.920 Girl Ventures, she's coming up next. You're listening to Bloomberg 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:13.120 Business Week. This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg Business 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:16.920 Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:21.480 on Bloomberg Radio. Well, this story that Bloomberg reported last year, Tim, 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:23.040 I gotta say it stayed with me. It's about how 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:26.880 the u S population it's black, and yet just four 0:07:26.960 --> 0:07:30.400 per of the VC industry is African American. That data 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:33.520 came out on the year of from the National Venture 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:36.240 Capital Association. That's compared with three percent two years earlier. 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:39.200 It's not changing much, but one of the guests we 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:41.720 caught up this week is trying to change it, as 0:07:41.800 --> 0:07:44.800 is Nike, who partnered with Black Girl Ventures to provide 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:47.480 half a million dollars to fund black and brown women 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.640 identifying founders of companies. Here with more on that and 0:07:50.720 --> 0:07:52.920 the work that Black Girl Ventures has been doing since 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:55.760 it was founded back in ten is Shelley Bell, founder 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:59.200 and CEO at Black Girl Ventures. So with blackgirold Ventures, 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:02.560 we worked to create access to capital, capacity, and community 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:05.640 in order to help black and brown founders sustain and 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:08.080 grow their businesses. One of the ways we do this 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:10.800 is we have a unique way of providing capital through 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:14.560 our pitch competition. And that competition is like Kickstarter and 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:17.960 Sharp Pink put together. So women pitched their businesses and 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:21.000 it is crowdfunded, and so the audience actually votes with 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:23.920 their dollars for the pitch that they favor most, and 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:27.160 then we grant that capital through those winners. We've also 0:08:27.160 --> 0:08:29.760 stretched across the city, so we're I'm across the country. 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:32.959 Wait wait, wait, wait wait, explain it. So so okay, so 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:34.320 I love it. Wait, I want you to break it 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:36.480 down for me. So you're telling me that entrepreneurs they 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:39.800 pitched to an audience and then the audience actually votes 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:44.600 with money. Yes, and Black Girl Ventures we we created 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:49.200 a crowd funded pitch competition. So you know, while you 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:51.400 know the status you just mentioned four percent of VC 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:55.240 industry being black, and you know, less than one percent 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:58.520 of black women or black black women receive access to 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:01.640 VC capital. You know, I'm just I was thinking to 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:04.000 myself or what can we do? And so I created 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:07.960 this unique way of engaging people democratizing assets to capital. 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:11.600 It is while we wait for everyone to become more equitable, 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:15.240 we still as underrepresented groups have to stay in business. 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:17.760 And so my thought was what could we do And 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:19.720 this is what we can do. We can activate people 0:09:20.240 --> 0:09:23.680 to actually engage in people with people to vote with 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:26.120 their dollars to provide access to capital. Well and tell 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:27.720 me about this, because you've been doing it for a 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:32.360 few years now, what's been the payoff of this? Yeah? 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:35.880 I mean when we're doing just purely you know, access 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:38.240 to capital you can from in terms of like without 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:41.120 any sponsors, in the beginning, we were still able to 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:43.400 provide anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars or a 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:46.880 couple of thousand dollars. I mean now with with our 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:50.920 efforts becoming more visible at Black proventres and having awesome 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:56.280 partners like Nike, Visa, Warby Parker, Equilibria, Cool House like this, 0:09:56.480 --> 0:09:58.560 amazing partners that we're able to work with an how 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:01.920 rare beauty burn and we're actually able to get our 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:06.920 our community more capital through the partnerships and connecting them 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:10.280 to bigger partners for example, with a very Beauty branch competition. 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:12.800 It was a clean beauty competition, the first one in 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:16.320 the country, and we partnered up with Ultra Beauty and 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:18.520 so the winner of that competition, not only did they 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:22.360 receive ten thousand dollars plus their crowdfunder capital, they got 0:10:22.360 --> 0:10:26.800 an opportunity to sell their products on ultra beauty dot com. Wow. 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:30.040 So it is really a combination of Shark Tank, American Idol, 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:32.760 like all these things in terms of doing it. But 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:35.800 you know, it speaks to though, what is a very 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:40.120 significant problem and that there's not equal access to capital 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:47.960 or fundraising you know rounds for all individuals. No, there's not, 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:51.920 and I mean there's not equal access. There's not equity 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:54.839 when when it comes to loans, there's not equity when 0:10:54.840 --> 0:10:57.959 it comes to UH capital for black role ventures. We 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:01.120 try to combat that with this out funding competition. On 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:03.640 top of that, we're all we also have a fellowship. 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:07.040 So with this Nike partnership we will be launching in Chicago. 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:09.400 It is a nine month fellowship not only focus on 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:12.960 business owners, but focus on business them becoming business leaders. 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:15.400 We need more voices at the table and that's what 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:17.839 I've learned throughout ever as a black revengures is that 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:20.520 having more voices at the table, voices in the community, 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:24.120 that I amplified visibility. We feel like people will be 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:27.600 able to engage in supporting these groups. Right, it's UM. 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:30.199 So it's been an amazing journey. Yeah, it's creating role 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:32.680 models for people to follow, but it's also creating a 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:36.120 network absolutely. So you know, each one teach ones a 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:39.400 fund one. It's a great way of saying it. Shelly, 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:43.280 you guys have funded um I think roughly dred and 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:45.679 thirty women and I'm just curious talk to me a 0:11:45.720 --> 0:11:49.080 little bit more about what happens to these women where 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:51.120 by providing them with a little bit of funding, what 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:53.360 happens to them as an entrepreneur, what happens to them 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:55.720 as a business you know owner, what happens to them 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:58.320 maybe as someone who is able to kind of pass 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:02.760 it along in my men to somebody else. He had 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:05.680 a great question. We at Black Girl Ventures, we also 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:08.840 provide them with more resources after they pitch, and so 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:11.679 they get an opportunity to go through an accelerated program 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:13.920 to be a part of a larger community. They get 0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:17.200 an opportunity to get access to Google cloud credits, Amazon 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:21.760 credits UM. Also we have different tech partners sales Force website. 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:24.800 We also connect them to people. But one of the 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:26.080 things that I would say that they can do with 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:29.400 the capital, especially in today's society where everything gets um 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.720 so connected to tech, is they can market you know, 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:35.679 they give put the money and to add um, they 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:38.360 can actually hire or keep on a freelancer for another 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:41.120 month or two um And those kinds of things extend 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:44.760 their capacity and you know, and also so capital capacity 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:47.320 and community and Black girl vengers well, and I'm guessing 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:50.560 that there is also a sensitivity and maybe a um, 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:53.400 a deliberate net you know, being deliberate in terms of 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:56.360 their supply chains. Because one of the conversations Shelley, that 0:12:56.360 --> 0:12:59.839 we've had, uh certainly here at Bloomberg, especially in light 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:02.440 of what happened to George Floyd and just trying to 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:06.760 understand the racism within you know, the society at large, 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:10.840 is the importance of companies, big companies that when they're 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:14.160 thinking about their supply chain to make sure it's diverse. 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:17.120 Like you know that money talks, essentially, and that's how 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:21.920 we're going to move the needle here. I mean access 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:24.800 the capital can look like a few things and black overstors. 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:28.600 We believe that acts the capital could be a larger customer, right, 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:31.720 And so when you talk about diversifying the supply chain, 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:33.760 that's what we're looking at. People being able to get 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:37.319 into supply diversity efforts that allow them to get access 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:40.280 to a larger customer. And this is why the government, 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:44.520 the US government's efforts around um supplier and around like 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:47.160 contract is so important because they're being able to get 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:50.880 access to the government even as a customer is super 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:54.120 important to diversifying and being able to level up your company. 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:56.880 I mean, prior to me operating Black Girl Ventures, I 0:13:56.920 --> 0:13:59.200 owned the print shop and I was able to level 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:02.880 up by doing uh swag and merch orders for Amazon 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:05.760 and Google. And I mean, you know, considering that journey 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:09.080 took that invested in what is Black Girl Ventures today. 0:14:09.440 --> 0:14:12.960 The growth is as a nonprofit really focused on creating 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:15.400 more access more women. So if you look at that 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:18.880 thread right now, me learning how to do that through 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:21.920 like working with Google and work with Amazon, and also 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:25.600 getting a bigger customer through Google and Amazon, right and 0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:28.680 then moving into creating this which now has created as 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:32.160 as the capital for a hundred thirty and counting women 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:34.760 across the country. And that was Shelley Bell, founder and 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:36.800 CEO Black Girl Ventures. And listen, one of the things 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:39.280 we got into the conversation, Tim, it's just that whole 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:41.440 idea of that a lot of minorities don't have the 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:45.320 same access to capital that white investors and entrepreneurs do, 0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:49.000 and so she's really trying to change that. Move the needle, 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:52.280 all right, still ahead. What's troubling workers? A survey ranks 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:55.960 their concerns. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week. This is Bloomberg. 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:06.000 You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:10.800 Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. So, Tim, 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:13.000 the American worker, you know, you've talked about a lot. 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:15.120 I've talked about a lot. It's something that Bloomberg has 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:17.800 really kept close tabs on, and long before the pandemic, 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:21.040 we know that US workers productivity in their medium pay, 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:23.880 which once rose in tant and went through an acrimonious 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:26.840 divorce compensation, especially in some of the country's fastest growing 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:30.320 industry as well, it's stagnated while the cost of housing, healthcare, 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:33.560 and education TI we know this decidedly have not. And 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:35.440 one thing that we talk a lot about is is 0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:38.680 workers goals of financial security. Here with insight on that 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.920 is Rob Thousand, vice chair at Prudential Financial and a 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:44.880 member of Prudential's Board of directors, with the company's latest 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:47.520 survey of the workforce. Yeah. So this is actually the 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:49.880 eleventh in our series that both free dates and then 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:54.000 subsequent to the to the pandemic. UM. Some interesting things 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:56.760 coming out of this most recent survey. Where I found 0:15:57.240 --> 0:16:00.160 most interesting, not necessarily surprising to me at least, but 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.600 interesting is, um, how you know you think about how 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:08.200 stress reveals cracks and foundations. Um, this stress, the economic 0:16:08.240 --> 0:16:10.440 stress and the pandemic stress that we've been going through 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:14.560 is actually, you know, I think revealed conditions that existed 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:17.760 well before the pandemic in terms of the lack of 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:22.160 financial resiliency that exists with you know, amongst American workers 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:24.800 in the In the survey, over half of the individual 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:28.840 survey indicated that they recognize that since the pandemic they 0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:32.360 actually were not well prepared going into the pandemic from 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:34.920 the standpoint of sort of their their own financial sort 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:37.640 of well being. Uh. And I think that was quite interesting. 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:40.120 So we talk about the pandemic, it's made it much worse. 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:43.440 So now seven intent are not well prepared, but but 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:46.480 fully half those were not in great shape heading into 0:16:46.520 --> 0:16:48.280 the pandemic, which I think speaks to some of the 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:51.040 foundational and fundamental things that need to be addressed. Yeah, 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:52.880 so so we rob we talk a lot about this 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.680 idea of the case shaped recovery, that so many Americans 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:58.240 are out of work right now and they're having a 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:00.760 really tough time getting back to work. At the same time, 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:04.440 we're seeing the stock market flirt with record highs and 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:06.800 people who are at the top end of the income 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:10.480 spectrum are doing pretty well. And I'm wondering what you 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:15.320 saw in your research that actually confirms and and confirms 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:19.560 to conforms to that. Well, what it showed is that 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:22.119 you know, there's a there's a high level of anxiety 0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:24.159 amongst American workers. And you know, if you sort of 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:26.400 think about it's the broad based American workers you're talking 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:29.000 about Middle America, uh, in this kind of a survey. 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:30.840 So there, you know, the people who may have some 0:17:30.960 --> 0:17:33.840 level of savings but obviously insufficient based on what the 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:37.120 survey has said. And so the benefit that they've received 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:40.000 by virtue of the uplift in financial markets has been 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:43.760 dwarfed by the insecurity they're feeling because of around job 0:17:43.840 --> 0:17:48.040 security and benefit security and the reality of UM. Whatever 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:51.160 they were making and saving before the pandemic hasn't been 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:54.080 enough UM. And I thought was it was interesting kim 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:56.480 is um in the survey had showed that, you know, 0:17:56.600 --> 0:18:01.760 one in four had actually exhausted UM or substantially depleted 0:18:01.760 --> 0:18:05.159 their emergency savings, and now one in five were behind 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:08.440 on their bills and two thirds said they couldn't they 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:11.199 could not finance a or pay for any kind of 0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:14.399 an emergency repair or you know, need for cash that 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:16.440 might come up. So I think there's you know, there's 0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:20.000 very much this dichotomy of of individuals who are who 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:23.280 who have not participated in the financial markets are are 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:25.840 actually quite vulnerable. Hey, I do under Rob too. Were 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:31.160 there any differences in terms of ages millennials versus older workers? Yeah, 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:33.760 interesting question, Carol. We did look at that, particularly in 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:36.639 this survey, we looked at millennials and it was actually worse, 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:39.399 which was kind of interesting when I thought about it, 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:42.120 perhaps not surprising. I mean, let's remember millennials now we're 0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:44.960 the biggest component of the workforce. So whatever we're seeing 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:48.760 in the data, it's gonna reflect how millennials are are 0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:53.159 are also experiencing the current environment. But also when you 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:55.879 think about where they the millennial is, UM from the 0:18:55.880 --> 0:18:58.840 standpoint of sort of the life cycle. You know, they're 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:03.800 heading into household formation, UM, you know, buying homes, getting mortgages, UM, 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:06.160 raising children. Uh. And so there are points in their 0:19:06.160 --> 0:19:09.280 career when actually, UM, there are probably the most stressful 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:11.800 points in their career in terms of their need for resiliency. 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:14.959 Yet are faced with an environment where it's you know, 0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:17.520 not not particularly available, and I think it has them 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:21.280 more stressed over the current circumstances than the general population. 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:23.119 And forgive me for your bringing this on YouTube, but 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:25.720 I am curious in terms of pulling the research and 0:19:25.760 --> 0:19:28.840 pulling it together. UM, any differences when they dig a 0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:33.760 little bit deeper into UM backgrounds and demographics blacks versus whites, Like, 0:19:33.840 --> 0:19:37.720 any differences there? Yeah, our our survey didn't. We haven't 0:19:37.760 --> 0:19:40.399 parced the data out from the survey that way. You know, 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:43.280 I think it's fair to say, um, Carol that you know, 0:19:43.280 --> 0:19:45.439 when you look at both the first order effects of 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:48.680 the pandemic from a health standpoint and then the second 0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:51.959 order effects from an economic standpoint. It's been a very 0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:55.560 unequal experience in our society. Uh, and you know, from 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:59.080 a socioeconomic demographic standpoint, so for both a racial standpoint 0:19:59.280 --> 0:20:01.159 and frankly from a gender standpoint to One of the 0:20:01.200 --> 0:20:03.600 things we do see is um in other surveys that 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:06.240 we've done related to this, is that you know, women 0:20:06.240 --> 0:20:09.959 are experiencing this from a stress standpoint more extremely than 0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:11.520 men are as a result of you know, what the 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:14.160 pandemic has done to the personal demands in the household 0:20:14.160 --> 0:20:16.000 and you know, all the benefits of remote work. And 0:20:16.080 --> 0:20:19.080 we've talked about this before with some of the burdens 0:20:19.119 --> 0:20:20.879 of being at home and that has to do with 0:20:21.000 --> 0:20:23.120 you know, the child care and home and home schooling 0:20:23.160 --> 0:20:26.639 and uh and you know, associated activities. So it's interesting 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:28.560 to hear you know, what Rob had to say, Tim, 0:20:28.560 --> 0:20:31.439 because you know, sometimes workers are concerned about just keeping 0:20:31.480 --> 0:20:35.440 their jobs. Sometimes they're worried about getting you know, pay increases. 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:38.800 This time it really was largely about financial security, So 0:20:38.880 --> 0:20:41.280 good to get uh some thoughts on that. And that 0:20:41.359 --> 0:20:43.159 of course was Rob Fouls and he's vice chair at 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:46.080 Prudential Financial. He's also a member of Prudential's board of Directors. 0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:49.720 You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week. Up next, someone who's 0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:52.160 had a front seat to so much, the former editor 0:20:52.160 --> 0:20:54.840 in chief of The Financial Times, all about the biggest 0:20:54.840 --> 0:20:58.120 business stories of his career. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week. 0:20:58.520 --> 0:21:08.680 This is Bloomberg. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with 0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:13.439 Carol Masser and Bloomberg Quick Takes. Tim Stinovik on Bloomberg Radio. 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:17.440 He spent fifteen years as the editor of the Financial Times, 0:21:17.680 --> 0:21:20.600 front row seat to the big business, economic and political 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:23.760 stories of our times and the power players behind them all. 0:21:23.960 --> 0:21:25.679 I love talking to people like this, to him and 0:21:25.800 --> 0:21:29.240 his observations, his access, it's all detailed in a new book. 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:31.400 It's a diary, if you will, of what he saw. 0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:34.280 The book is entitled The Powerful and the Damned Private 0:21:34.280 --> 0:21:37.920 Diaries in Turbulent Times, and the author Lionel Barber, former 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:40.879 FT editor in Chief. Check it out well. Great to 0:21:40.920 --> 0:21:43.080 be with you, Carol. I wanted to have a book 0:21:43.119 --> 0:21:47.520 about power, people in power, how they made decisions, what 0:21:47.600 --> 0:21:51.680