Economics

God On Wall Street: Is There A Middle Class Breakdown? – Part 1

Published

12 years ago

November 2, 2014

By Curtis O. Robinson, Sr.

“Behold, these are the wicked; and always at ease, they have increased in wealth.” Psalms 72:12

As the dollar continues to strengthen against the euro, I can hear the O’Jays in the back of my mind sing, “All Mighty Dollar.”

The dollar has made a significant comeback from the days when American tourist would be greeted by foreign exchange bankers with signs that read, “Euros Only.”

A euro is the official currency of the European Union’s (EU) member countries. The euro was introduced by the EU to the financial community in 1999, and physical euro coins and paper notes were introduced in 2002.

So as you can see, the euro is a new concept that allowed countries to pool their currency into a unit creating their standard of exchange. As of today one U.S. dollar can buy 0.79 euro.

This means that the dollar is being exchanged at a discount to the euro. I get less euros in exchange for U.S. dollars.

However, because of a recovery of positive Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced in the U.S.), economic policy under the Obama administration has placed the country’s economic trajectory on an upward pace.

Or is it?

In his book, “No Rising Tide,” Joerg M. Rieger says, “There can be little doubt that the topic of class is among the most taboo in the United States.”

And we can see in our churches that the message about money is not correct because money is something that we just don’t talk about.

And I think that we suffer.

We suffer from an illusion of prosperity and wealth because in the African-American culture, wealth is not something that we build – it’s something that you wear.

When we look at the mirage of professional athletes in the U.S. who have reached the zenith of their athletic performance, as soon as many of them can, they cover themselves in jewelry, cars and clothing that are fit for a king.

It is a staggering summation when stats suggest that 78 percent of NFL players and 60 percent of NBA players file for bankruptcy within five years after retiring.

So money has an intoxicating effect because either we are wasting what we have or wasting money trying to look like what we are not.

In 2009, the 25 richest hedge fund investors earned $25 billion dollars. Entry into the super-rich club begins at $380,000 annually, while the average household income of the super-rich is $1.2 million annually.

Is there a way out of the spiraling nightmare of money imbalance? And when will the church stop acting like Jesus doesn’t hear the groans of the oppressed?

In terms of net worth of the middle class in the U.S., things haven’t improved since 1984 – they have worsened. Is there a solution?

Curtis O. Robinson, Sr. is senior pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Oakland and chairman of the board of Faith Visionary Services, Inc. of Oakland. Contact him at pastorcurt@thefaithbcofoakland.org.

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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

6 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.