Assignment 6A - Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

REGULATORY OPPORTUNITIES

'County raises tobacco buying age to 21'
The Gainesville Sun

• The opportunity behind this regulation change is the decrease in youth tobacco users. By Alachua County being the first county in the nation to raise the buying age for tobacco to 21, it can lead the country in phasing out underage smokers.
• The prototypical customer of this opportunity would be underage smokers, especially those who use e-cigarettes.
• The opportunity is easy to exploit as this new regulation only affects the buying power of younger smokers. As the article mentions, users under 21 won't be penalized for smoking.
• I saw this as an opportunity because of the craze that is "vaping" amongst people my age (and younger). While it may be marketed as a "cool" product to use and thus comes in many different styles and can be even personalized with wrap stickers, it is ultimately something that has to be suppressed due to the fact that it is contributing to the rising levels of smokers in the nation. Prior to the current state of this product's popularity, smoking amongst the general population was decreasing; of course, that is now not the case at all and is now increasing, especially amongst younger people.

'How to Stop Rogue Gene-Editing of Human Embryos?'

The New York Times

• The opportunity behind this regulation change is the creation of global standards for governments worldwide to use when confronted with "dangerous and unethical" experimentation, such as the genetic modification of babies. There also exists the opportunity to establish an official system for scientists to use when raising concerns towards malpractices within the science field. 
• The prototypical customer of this opportunity would be scientists around the world concerned with maintaining the ethical standards of scientific practices. Also included in this category would be scientists who fear the generational health implications that genetically-modified babies could have in terms of disease control and genetic design alterations.
• Yes, this opportunity is easy to exploit because the experiments can be carried out in other countries where genetic modification isn't illegal and supervision is thus easier to evade. Documents surrounding the ethics of the experiment can also be falsified. The concept of Dr. He crossing an international 'red line' is one that is easily exploitable simply because now that his experiment is public to the world, people are aware of the scientific "advancements" being made and as a result demand it to be made accessible to the general public.
• I saw this as an opportunity because the field of science is one that requires a level of sanctity and regulation that is imperative to the carrying out of ethical experiments that reflect the values of the general public. Should an experiment, such as Dr. He's, violate this general principle, certain precautions must be taken in order to preserve the credibility and usefulness of scientific discoveries and advancements. 

ECONOMIC TRENDS

'White House Economist Says Economy May Not Grow in First Quarter'

The Wall Street Journal

• The opportunity behind this economic trend is the reopening of the government. Should the government remain closed, the economy will see almost zero growth in the first quarter. With the reopening of the government, the economy should be able to recover the lost growth in the upcoming quarters.
• Everyone living in the United States is a prototypical customer, but especially creditors, suppliers, federal employees, businesses, etc. 
• This opportunity is exploitable because the general public is seeing the effects of this government shutdown in their everyday lives, thus increasing the demand for the reopening of the government. It also shows the rest of the world that the U.S.'s economy is currently in a vulnerable state, negatively impacting our global image.
• I saw this as an opportunity because I have been seeing firsthand the effects of this government shutdown on federal workers and public facilities; through these accounts, I'm able to deduct that there does exist an opportunity in reopening the government as the economy would greatly benefit from it. 

'Big Cities No Longer Deliver for Low-Skilled Workers'

Bloomberg

• Initially, I believed that the opportunity behind this economic trend was the growth in small-town-based businesses, as I assumed that there could be a chance that businesses would want to go to where the workers are (companies that don't require higher-level education from its employees); however, that wouldn't be very effective because 1) industries are shifting to knowledge-based employment and 2) rural areas tend to have lower-skilled workers amongst its population. However, opportunities do exist as a result of this economic trend, as rents could be lowered in cities to make them more livable for everyone and knowledge workers could be dispersed to smaller town communities. 
• The prototypical customer is the low-skilled worker trying to make a decent living in a city setting.
• This opportunity can be exploited, as living conditions could be lowered to match the lowered rent costs and the dispersement of knowledge workers to smaller-town environments can result in city-like developments that defeat the purpose of dispersing these workers to this region in the first place.
• I initially saw this as an opportunity for small businesses because I assumed that due to the difficulty surrounding the job search process in cities, lower-skilled workers would instead focus their efforts in the small towns they come from; this means starting their own businesses, developing their own industries, etc. I personally believe that this rural regions of this nation are underdeveloped for the level of advancements that have been made, and while I understand that this is the hotbed of agricultural practices and whatnot, this particular region could work towards advancing and modifying their present industries to keep up with the pace of the rest of the country.