Spring Break 2026 has come with an unexpected way of holding up a mirror.
Driving through beach towns recently, I noticed electronic signs flashing curfews—7 p.m., 8 p.m., everywhere. Fox News, CNN, the same story on repeat. And I couldn’t help but laugh. Because when you’ve got kids—especially my youngest one—you start hearing an old phrase with fresh clarity: you’re paying for your raising.
All those late nights, wild ideas, and ‘what could possibly go wrong’ moments from my own Spring Break days? They didn’t disappear. They multiplied. They turned into security officers, barricades, and rules designed to protect the next generation from what mine normalized.
That idea doesn’t stop at parenting; it shows up clearly in business. The automotive industry is no different. The last six years—COVID disruptions, supply shortages, inflated pricing, high interest rates, massive pushes into electric before the market was ready—weren’t accidents. They were choices. And today’s negative equity, pressure on consumers, and manufacturers’ EV losses are part of the bill coming due.
Here’s the good news: everything will be okay. But only if we dig in. Markets, like families, are reflections of what we’ve built. Messaging matters. Ownership matters.
Because whether it’s raising kids or running a business, the truth remains the same: what you sow, you reap. And eventually, everyone pays for their raising.