Economics

God On Wall Street: Can the Market Save the Middle Class?

Published

12 years ago

July 31, 2014

By Curtis O. Robinson Sr.

On this day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down sharply 70.4 points to close the day at 16,912.11. The NASDAQ was off slightly to close the session at 4,442.70 and the S&P 500 was of .45 percent to end the day at 1,965.95.

To your average working class citizen, these statistics harbor on the cliff of “What did you say” and “Could you please pass the mustard.” Some by way of 401k statements may have developed a working language for the dry and sometimes seemingly irrelevant terminology that is spoken in this arena.

However, when we talk about the idea of the richest one percent having more wealth than the poorest 45 percent of the people on the planet, then a more lenient banter should begin to be spoken across our dinner tables. Fact: in 1989, the median household income was $51,681.

Fact; in 1999 the median household income was $56,080. Fact: In 2012, the median household income was $51,017. So the trend is down, and if the trend is your friend, it will continue to go down.

And the reason that I say this is because of the despairing gap between income earners. CEO salaries loom over workers compensation like a plague. Larry Ellison of Oracle – $78 million.

Bob Iger of Disney – $34 million, Rupert Murdoch of 21^st Century Fox – $26 million. That’s why we need to curb our enthusiasm because people like the gentlemen that I have just mentioned make decisions that impact middle class lifestyle.

And unlike the days of feudalism when the monarchs felt an obligation to return a portion of goods or profit to the village, the monarchs of today just continue live beyond the reach of 99% of America.

I have a former work associate who was our banker and responsible for deal flow for the branch. I cannot tell you how many times he found deals that started out great but fizzled because the company could not keep pace with consumer and market dynamics

But one day he finally got the sauce right and sold a company to J.P. Morgan for a cool $100 million dollars. A poor kid from the Bronx comes to San Francisco and makes a mint behind a technology company.

So even if it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to get into heaven…maybe so. But Jesus didn’t say that he couldn’t get in.

Curtis O. Robinson Sr. is the senior pastor of Faith Baptist Church and senior managing partner of Imani Nathan Capital Management, LLC of Oakland. Contact Pastor Robinson at crobinson@imanathan.com.

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Activism

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses. The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Published

7 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, was one of the speakers at the event. Photo by Shellee Fisher Photography and Design.

By Calvin Naito, Special to The Post

On June 4, a national nonprofit named the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) – which aims to increase public construction contracting opportunities for small and historically underutilized businesses – held a day-long event in downtown San Francisco to rally supporters and build momentum to its cause.

It was attended by more than 100 individuals from public agencies, private firms, and other organizations committed to increasing contracting opportunities with governmental agencies, thereby creating more competition and lowering public costs.

The EIP event was held the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in conjunction with BuildIT, which aims to increase contracting opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses.

The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Following the workshop, BuildIT hosted a VIP evening reception honoring EIP, whose principals – Phil Washington, John Procari, and Rick Jacobs – accepted the award.

The event also set in motion the coalition’s efforts to implement recommendations from EIP’s “Procurement for Prosperity: A Playbook.”

The Playbook is a practical guide for public agency leaders and procurement and contracting practitioners to grow the capacity of small and first-time contractors, strengthen competition, and deliver better value for taxpayers.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), a long-time EIP supporter, also told attendees, “This is about commitment. This has been a life’s work. This is a tailwind moment.”

The event’s presenting sponsor was Hub International, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the nation, which was joined by partners Travelers Insurance and the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

After the pledge-signing ceremony, attendees participated in a workshop in which they examined the policies, practices, and programs needed to meet EIP goals, learned from practitioners, and identified next steps toward utilizing the Playbook.

Ingrid Meriwether, formerly of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services (MWIS) and current president of Hub International’s Aligned Risk Management, MWIS, described the hard-fought lessons she and her MWIS team have learned over the last three decades administering contractor development programs (CDPs) for the City and County of San Francisco, Alameda County, City of Los Angeles, LA Metro, and other municipalities.

The CDPs help small and local construction firms win public infrastructure contracts with these government agencies. The program provides bonding assistance, contract financing, technical support, training, and other services to underrepresented businesses funded by public agencies who seek greater contracting participation with these firms.

Merriwether said programs like these “break down systemic barriers, create greater fairness, and save taxpayers money by enabling more competition. The contractor development programs have, cumulatively, over two decades, helped contractors access over $1 billion in bonding, supporting over $380 million in awarded contracts, and maintaining a loss ratio 250 times lower than the industry average – while saving participating municipalities more than $27 million in contracting costs as a result of enabling more competition.”

Rick Jacobs, EIP co-founder and co-chair urged attendees make plans to meet again in the near future “to continue building on this work, share progress on organizational commitments, and discuss how we can collectively advance the goals of the EIP pledge.”

For more information on the EIP and to access a copy of the Playbook, go online to https://equityininfrastructure.org/

Calvin Naito is communications manager for Equity in Infrastructure Project.