About

fringe

| frinj | noun

The benefits an employer provides on top of wages.
In a distribution, the tail. Where the rare and expensive outcomes sit.

theory

| ˈthē-ə-rē | noun

An explanation of how something works, built from principles rather than from what you have been told about it.
A claim you can test against your own numbers.

A view from the edge of the distribution, about the money at the edge of the labor rate, argued from evidence rather than from a marketing angle.

House entries, written for this publication. Not reproduced from any dictionary.

I have worked in employee benefits since 2008, advising employers on plan design, funding arrangements, compliance, and the other cost drivers behind a modern workforce.

Teaching high school came first, which turned out to be reasonable preparation for this work. The hard part is generally not the facts, it is breaking down complex topics so people can actually use them.

I have written for BenefitsPRO. Speaking and mentoring peers are the closest this work gets to teaching.

Outside of work, most of my time goes to my wife, our three children, and a yellow Labrador.

Fringe Theory is written when there is something worth writing about, and stays quiet when there isn't.

You’ll find me most active on LinkedIn.

How this gets built

The theories are my own. Which questions are worth chasing, whether a source is good enough to build an argument on, and whether a finding is strong enough to publish are my decisions, supported by my experience in the sector since 2008.

AI is a partner in four main areas. It runs research down and checks my math. It challenges ideas, which has killed several theories the data didn't support. It writes most of the code behind the graphs, tools and calculators, which I could not have written on my own. And it cleans up my drafts, which matters more than it sounds like it should, because I am, and always have been, a terrible proofreader.

Every figure here comes from a named public source, and the source sits on the number rather than in a footnote at the bottom. Where a figure comes out of a model rather than an observation, the model says so on the number itself. Where a claim can't be sourced at all, it gets labeled as inference rather than passed off as a finding.

Overall, I have a full time job and a family, so this gets done at night and on weekends. Without the help, most of it would stay in my head, or in a conversation with a client.

The sourcing rule is the one that matters most. Every number on this site can be run down to a public document, whether or not I had help finding it.

The tools and calculators run entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere, logged, or emailed to me, which is also why there is no form standing between you and your answer. If you want a copy, the print button makes one on your own machine.

Fringe Theory is independent and unaffiliated. Views expressed are my own and do not represent those of my employer. Nothing here is legal, tax, medical, or investment advice.