A downside of starting a business
And more of the week's best financial insight

Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial insight, gathered from around the web:
College costs hit long-term wealth
Tuition costs have changed the calculus around obtaining a higher degree, said Paul Tough in The New York Times Magazine. Economists have long referred to “the gap that exists between the incomes of college graduates and high school graduates” as the “college wage premium,” which has hovered near 65% in recent years. The premium, though, “doesn’t take into account how much grads owe — or how much they spent on college.” New research has looked instead at the “net wealth of a typical college graduate.” College grads born in the 1960s had two to three times the wealth of non-grads — and among Black grads, the advantage was especially notable. “But younger white college graduates — those born in the 1980s — had only a bit more wealth than white high school graduates born in the same decade,” and for Black graduates the advantage had shrunk to almost nothing. The culprit: “The rising expense of college” and student debt.
A downside of starting a business
Entrepreneurship can be a surprising red flag on your résumé, said Jacob Waddingham and Miles Zachary in Fortune. A survey of 700 hiring managers “found that former business owners were actually less likely to get interviews compared with applicants with only traditional experience.” This was true regardless of whether they had sold or closed their business. Why the hesitation among employers about bringing on a former business owner? “We found that recruiters worried that entrepreneurs would jump ship to start their own companies as soon as they could.” Hiring professionals also raised concerns about “ex-entrepreneurs who refuse to take directions,” or who might struggle translating their nontraditional experience into traditional work.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Health insurance premiums rise
Next year could see the biggest jump in health insurance costs in more than a decade, said Anna Wilde Mathews in The Wall Street Journal. Mercer and Willis Towers Watson, two large benefits consulting firms, project that “costs for employer coverage are expected to surge around 6.5% for 2024,” the biggest bump since 2012. The boost “could add significantly to the price tag for employer plans that already average more than $14,600 a year per employee.” The reasons for the increase include “hospitals’ higher labor costs and heavy demand for new and expensive diabetes and obesity drugs.”
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Critics' choice: Three takes on tavern dining
Feature A second Minetta Tavern, A 1946 dining experience, and a menu with a mission
By The Week US
-
Film reviews: Warfare and A Minecraft Movie
Feature A combat film that puts us in the thick of it and five misfits fall into a cubic-world adventure
By The Week US
-
What to know before lending money to family or friends
the explainer Ensure both your relationship and your finances remain intact
By Becca Stanek, The Week US
-
Work life: Caution settles on the job market
Feature The era of job-hopping for bigger raises is coming to an end as workers face shrinking salaries and fewer opportunities to move up
By The Week US
-
Trump tariffs: five scenarios for the world's economy
The Explainer A US recession? A trade war with China? How 'Liberation Day' could realign the globe
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
Saving the post office
Feature The U.S. Postal Service is facing mounting losses and growing calls for privatization. Can it survive?
By The Week US
-
Safe harbor: Gold rises as stocks sink
feature It's a golden age for goldbugs
By The Week US
-
What is the Mar-a-Lago accord?
Talking Point A Maga economic blueprint proposes upending the global financial system. Could it fly?
By The Week UK
-
Elon Musk: has he made Tesla toxic?
Talking Point Musk's political antics have given him the 'reverse Midas touch' when it comes to his EV empire
By The Week UK
-
Texas vs. Delaware: See you in court
Feature Delaware risks losing its corporate dominance as companies like Tesla and Meta consider reincorporating in Texas
By The Week US
-
Could a private equity deal be the end of Walgreens?
Today's Big Question The pharmacy chain will be taken private in a $10 billion deal
By Justin Klawans, The Week US