The Pharmacy Staffing Shortage, Is the US College Price Tag Still Worth It? and Why You Should Say Yes More Often

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1:06Welcome to the Prof G Pod's Office Hours. This is the part of the show where we answer your questions about business, big tech, entrepreneurship, and whatever else is on your mind. Hey, Prof G. Hey, Scott and team. Hey, Scott. Hi, Prof G. Hey, Prof G. Hey, Prof G. Hi, Professor G. Last week's Office Hours, we answered your questions surrounding Sheen's design practices, qualities to look for when hiring, and how to pivot when you're a mid-career professional. IP protection be increased. I think you could argue that the final frontier of that or the next frontier is AI. The key to being successful, I think, is to develop allies along the way.

1:43Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. Every day, three or four emails to strangers, contacts, colleagues from your alma mater who are working in investor relations, comms, video production, content strategy, and sort of get on it and just get back into the ecosystem, if you will. Today, we'll answer your questions about the current pharmacy staffing shortage, whether the U.S. college price tag is worth it, and how to navigate life transitions. I'm already intimidated. You know what? I don't know any more about this shit than you, but I don't know any less. First question. Hi, Professor Galloway.

2:19My name is Man. I currently live in Washington State. I have been a fan since I listened to your interview with Barry Ritholtz, in which you mentioned your book, The Four. My question to you is about the pharmacy workforce, because I'm a pharmacist. The pharmacy world is dealing with the shortage of technicians due to low wages. What do you think corporate need to do to provide incentives for the pharmacy technician? I enjoy watching Oya's posts. Enjoy all your dad jokes on the show. Thank you. So, boss, we really need to be friends, such that every time I see you, I can say, Hey, man. Hey, man.

2:57I love that. I love that. I say I respond to texts from other men. I would say, hey, man. And if I like them or I'm close to them, I'm like, hey, brother. Anyways, what do I think? Supposedly, and I've read something about this, there is supposedly a looming pharmacy crisis in America, specifically staffing shortage due to increasing burnout among pharmacists. I guess a lot of boomers are just sick of this shit and retiring. According to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, applications to pharmacy schools have declined 64 % from nearly 100 ,000 in 2012 to about 36 ,000 in 2022. Data from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine revealed that there were about 61 ,000 job postings for pharmacists in the first three quarters of 2023, but only about 13 ,000 pharmacists graduated in 2022.

3:47What? Why is this happening? What's going on here? Some workers have staged walkouts, including well-known protests called Pharmageddon. That's cute. That's cute. Pharmageddon, which involved three days of nationwide walkouts in CVS and Walgreens. What's being done to navigate the pharmacist shortage? National retailers, including Walgreens and CVS Health, are investing heavily in automation and micro-fulfillment centers where robots handle most of the tasks to streamline and reduce the workload. In February of this year, Walgreens announced a partnership with pharmacy school deans at 17 universities to increase student enrollment in pharmacy schools.

4:23So, okay, what's going on here? Theoretically speaking, if there's a crisis and a shortage, that would mean the market would naturally, on its own, intrinsically need to offer greater wages and you would see an increase in wages. Just as through the pandemic, we couldn't get any frontline workers or any staff or service workers back to, you know, people just got sick of trying to get people to put their masks on and meanwhile putting their own health at risk for nine bucks an hour. And I was on the board of Panera Bread and wages went up, I think, 30 or 40 percent just in a probably a six or a 12 month period.

5:03Not because we're good people, although I do think they're good people, but because we had to to get to. I mean, it was just striking. I remember this one stat the CEO was saying that usually they have a job fair and they get 100 applicants and they might hire 20 of them. 18 would show up day one. You know, they'd always say two just don't show up. it went down to something like 20 people would show up at the job fair they'd make 10 offers and of those 10 only two or three would show up the first day of work which just struck me as where are people getting money how it just it it does feel and i think this is a good thing that at the lower end of the wage scale there was all this pent-up bullshit or wages were too low and all of a sudden i don't say the dam broke but basically these people said this just isn't worth it i'm not going to work this hard and put up with this bullshit to live below the poverty line.

5:52And there was a massively overdue increase in wage pressure, which led to higher wages at the lower income level, which is a wonderful thing. At the end of the day, it's supply and demand. And I would think that over time, you're going to see wages rise among pharmacists, just as if you've seen wages rise among nurses. Now, if I were to say what is the culprit here, it's that an industry is too concentrated. One, I would argue, and I don't have the data here, but I would argue if I were to put forward a thesis around what's happened, it's one, regulatory capture by the pharmaceutical companies and hospital networks that have essentially starched out all the margin.

6:30And the frontline workers, the doctors and the pharmacists and the nurses have not kept anything near the pace of the increase in healthcare costs. It has gone to insurance companies who get 45 cents on the dollar for admin and profits. The best argument, in my opinion, for nationalizing medicine is 45 cents on the dollar gets starched out of the system by insurance companies. So if you pay a dollar in insurance, you get 55 cents in care back. Two, there's a pretty serious concentration around the front end. And that is, I think, between CVS Health and Walgreens, I would imagine that it's pretty concentrated.

7:11There's not enough people bidding on the labor here. If there's really only two folks, you know, and they themselves are struggling on the front end. They're facing some of the same pressures, I think, as frontline health care workers are facing, that they're not in a mood to be super generous. And quite frankly, they don't need to because if they control the majority of the jobless things around pharmacists, they kind of set the price. And again, I think it's another example of the concentration of power in an industry is not a good thing. I would argue that it's a interesting profession. I would think over the long term that the market will largely self-correct.

7:48It may take longer than it should because of this regulatory capture and this concentration of power that I was talking about. So there you go, man. Next question. Hi, Scott. This is Florian from Zurich, Switzerland. I love your podcast. Your candor and humor are refreshing, and I often find myself returning to your work when looking for interesting content. Here's my question. I'm a father of two teenage boys about to graduate from the Swiss public school system. Their high school degrees will allow them to attend Swiss universities where education is excellent and tuition is very affordable, between 1 ,000 and 2 ,000 US dollars a year.

8:25Given this, would you still consider sending your sons to a US college despite the higher tuition fees? Is the differential in tuition fees warranted in your view? As a pro bono professor at NYU, I look forward to receiving your honest opinion. Regards, Florian. Thanks, Florian. First off, let's just take stock of your blessings. You live in Zurich, which I think is one of the most beautiful, civilized, just generally pleasant cities in the world. I think it would be wonderful to be raising boys there. The father of two teenage boys. I'm a father of two teenage boys. And I'm not exaggerating. Every day I have a moment where I think, God, I'm just so blessed.

9:03I just think about my boys and I just think, Jesus, you know, I have experienced something that just has made it all worthwhile. So anyways, back to your question. According to the College Board, the average 2023-2024 price to tuition fees, housing, and food of private nonprofit four-year colleges is$56 ,000. I think at NYU, it's actually above$100 ,000 now. I think tuition is$72 ,000. I think it's well above$100 ,000. It's probably$110 ,000. And at four-year public colleges, in-state students face an average cost of about$24 ,000. I think those numbers are low. But anyways, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average price of college tuition fees in room and board is increased 155 % between 1980 and 2023.

9:45Why? Because me and my colleagues every day look in the mirror when we wake up in the morning, we ask ourselves one question. How can I increase my compensation while decreasing my accountability? There's this notion that somehow we're more noble than your average bear. We're not. We're not any less noble. And there's a lot of good people in education. But be clear, we want to have a home in the Hamptons and have a nice life and pay for our own kids' overpriced college education as much as anybody else. And we have discovered the ultimate business strategy. It's the LVMH strategy. Let's reject so many people through artificial scarcity by constraining supply unnecessarily such that we can position ourselves as an aspirational luxury brand and raise our prices faster than inflation and then hire a bunch of administrative people, administrators who do interesting work that has absolutely no fucking impact on anything.

10:34See above DEI, sustainability, leadership, ethics. Jesus fucking Christ. I'm going to teach my son, or I'm going to teach a kid at the age of 27 how to be more ethical. Yeah. Good luck with that. Anyways, where are we? Okay. So this is the bottom line and what I would do. America does a small number of things really well. We make the best weapons in the world. Looking to kill a bunch of people? We're your retailer of choice. We make incredible software. And when I say software, I'm encompassing all technology. Another thing America does really well, really well, distinct of the price, is the college experience.

11:10I've spoken at Oxford and Cambridge and spent time at the Bocconi. I taught at Instituto Impresa in Madrid for a semester back in 2007, I think. But anyways, I'm pretty familiar with European universities. They're fine. They're better value. They give you the skills you need. They do not have the same brand equity, right? Michigan, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon are global brands, right? The Bocconi is sort of. Essex, sort of. Cambridge and Oxford, definitely, but the other several thousand universities in Europe, no one's ever heard of. And I do think it's an advantage. We live in a LinkedIn information economy and having a brand name U.S.

11:50University does give your kids an edge. Also, also, in terms of the experience, oh my gosh, we're so good at that. College football games, fraternities and sororities. Yeah, I said it. Fraternities and sororities are a wonderful experience for people. They shrink a big university down to a small number of people. By the way, fun fact that I used to tell people when I was the Interfraternity Council President at UCLA, no joke, that's right, I was king of the jarheads, was that the moment a kid joins a fraternity or sorority, they become much more likely to graduate. It's important to immediately find a group of people or a tribe or whatever to create that connective tissue.

12:24Anyways, the university experience, the U.S. university experience, land-grant schools, it is singular. It is singular. So what should you do? One, if your kids are up for it, apply to several U.S. colleges. Hopefully, hopefully this is what happens. Your son or your daughter get into three or four. Actually, you said sons, teenage boys, plural. Get into three or four universities and then this is what you do. You play them off against each other. Because the interesting thing about the university admissions process is we all want to get in, right? We're desperate to get in. But once we get in, they all want your kid because they have something called yield rates that has a huge impact on their rankings.

13:04And that is if someone gets into Duke and UVA, they will announce or they will publish what the yield is. What do I mean by that? The yield between Columbia and NYU, that is people that got them to both schools, used to be like 90-10. Everyone went for the big brand prestige of Columbia. And then Ross and Rachel, friends, basically, and Will and Grace, everyone wanted to be in Soho. And so now our yield, I think, is like 55-60 to 45-40. In other words, Columbia still gets a higher yield than us, but we're within striking distance of being a parity. Through no fault of our own, the faculty and administrators will take credit for the amazing work we've done at NYU.

13:37Some of that is true, but it's mostly because we live in the coolest neighborhood in the world. I'll stick to that. I think Soho is an amazing neighborhood. But anyways, ideally, ideally, and one best laid plans. And then your teenage boys will tell you what they are doing. I like to think it's so funny with parents. We think that we have so much influence over our kids. And the reality is they kind of come to and they make up their own mind. And if it is affordable and it's all else being equal, by all means. And again, it's up to them. The U.S. University experience is singular. I would recommend it to anyone globally.

14:08It's an amazing experience, something that would treasure the rest of their lives. Thanks for the question. We have one quick break before our final question. Stay with us. Black Friday savings are here at the Home Depot, which means it's time to add new cordless power to your collection. Right now when you buy a select battery kit from one of our top brands like Ryobi or Milwaukee, you'll get a select tool from that same brand for free. Click into one of our best deals of the season and stock up on tools for all your upcoming projects. Get Black Friday savings happening now at The Home Depot.

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16:27Welcome back. Question number three. Hello, Scott. I'm Thomas. I recently moved out of my hometown in Quebec to a new city, Montreal. This move allowed me to transfer to my company HQ, work on more interesting projects, and experience new and exciting things as I approach my mid-20s. I'm here with my girlfriend, and we live in a nice apartment downtown. It's great. However, I won't hide the fact that it's a significant change to absorb. I am particularly stressed about maintaining my close relationships from a distance and creating bonds with new people in Montreal. Since you have moved to multiple cities throughout your life and strongly advise young people like me to move to a city, step out of their comfort zones, and seek new experiences, what advice would you have for someone like me who's in the middle of a life transition?

17:20Thanks so much for your help. Love the new book. So first off, Thomas, one of the pieces of advice I give to young people about how to create the atmosphere for success is simple, and that is move to a city, and you've done that. you can be good in Montreal and get much further faster than if you were great in your hometown in Quebec. So moving to Montreal, moving to the big city, if you will, is an investment in yourself and is going to better leverage your skill set. Also, the fact that you move there with your girlfriend, you're in a relationship. Do you realize only one out of three men under the age of 30 has a girlfriend?

17:52Two out of three women under the age of 30 have a boyfriend. You think, well, that's not mathematically impossible. Well, it's not because women are dating older as they're pursuing more economically and emotionally viable men. Another talk show. So, boss, I just have one word of advice for how to integrate and develop that kind of social capital you're looking for as a young man in a new city. Yes. Say yes to everything for a while. Say yes to drinks with coworkers, a coffee, ask people out, get, you know, your girlfriend's friends, invite other couples out, whatever it might be. Do a dinner party.

18:28Just kind of say yes to everything. And you're so fortunate to kind of hit the ground running there with a partner. That just makes things so much easier, and you're not going to get as lonely. But just my brother, you're obviously a shit-together guy, and you've got a partner in crime here. Just go out. Be friendly. Introduce yourself. Get involved. Maybe if you play sports in a local league, I don't know if you attend a church or a temple or a mosque, but get involved in the local chapter, what have you. And you kind of work through to get your sort of your squad, if you will. But the key is getting out of the house, saying yes to everything.

19:07Try to resist the temptation to just hang out with your girlfriend and watch Netflix all the time after a hard day's work. Get out, do stuff, join groups. But my brother, let's finish where we started. You're living in Montreal with your girlfriend after getting a job. It is good to be you, Thomas. Congratulations and thanks for the question. That's all for this episode. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to officehours at PropGmedia.com. Again, that's officehours at PropGmedia.com.

19:44This episode was produced by Caroline Shagrin, Jennifer Sanchez is our associate producer, and Drew Burrows is our technical director. Thank you for listening to the Prop G Pod from the Vox Media Podcast Network. We will catch you on Saturday for No Mercy, No Malice, as read by George Hahn. And please follow our Prop G Markets Pod wherever you get your pods for new episodes every Monday and Thursday.

20:09Taddy was a tall drink of lemonade right there. Hello. Give me a little bit more Scott. Rinse takes your laundry and hand delivers it to your door. Expertly cleaned and folded. So you could take the time once spent folding and sorting and waiting to finally pursue a whole new version of you. Like tea time you. Mmm. Or this tea time you. Or even this tea time you. So did you hear about Dave? Or even tea time, tea time, tea time you. Mmm. So update on Dave. It's up to you. We'll take the laundry. Rinse. It's time to be great.