Business

ON THE MONEY: When it comes to assets, it’s all about preparation

WAVE NEWSPAPERS — It’s worth noting that on a per capita basis, more Americans became millionaires after the Great Depression than any other time in history

Published

7 years ago

January 11, 2019

John Grace Contributing Columnist

By John L. Grace

About four years before the 2000-02 “tech wreck” where the NASDAQ dropped 80 percent, according to Yahoo Finance, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan warned of “irrational exuberance” at a dinner speech.

In an interview with CNN Dec. 17, Greenspan said, “It would be very surprising to see [markets] sort of stabilize here and then take off.”

Greenspan went on to say leading stock indexes may have a little upside left. But that’s only going to make the inevitable drop more painful. So, “at the end of that run, run for cover,” he said.

Now I don’t know if Greenspan is correct, nor do I offer an opinion as to how much time there might be before a major downturn. But I do know that no one needs to foresee the future to prepare for it.

Who told us in 2007 that credit default swaps and sub-prime mortgages could ruin the world as we knew it? So if no one told you about the last crisis, who do you think will alert you in advance of the next one?

Nearly half (48.6 percent) of chief financial officers in the U.S. believe this country will be in recession by the end of next year, according to the Duke University/CFO Global Business Outlook survey released on Dec. 12. The Duke survey also found that 82 percent of CFOs believe that a recession will begin by the end of 2020.

It seems like just a minute ago the CFOs were embracing the mistaken notion that this country could enjoy 4 percent gross domestic product growth. We’ve been saying for some time now what former Fed Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said that, “quite high” levels of corporate debt are “a danger.”

Yellen is absolutely correct with her observation, “High levels of corporate leverage could prolong the downturn and lead to lots of bankruptcies,” she said on CNBC, Dec. 10.

According to me, it’s not about the prediction, it’s all about the preparation. We put far more emphasis on the work necessary to keep client assets intact than attempting to predict what might happen or when it might happen.

I was asked to speak to 100 of my peers recently. I started by asking, how do you think that two-story white house in Mexico Beach, Florida survived Hurricane Michael?

The first answer was, “It was God,” and the second answer offered was, “It’s a miracle.”

I said you can believe what you want to believe, but the third response is the correct answer, “They built it for the big one.”

The point I was making is that just as most houses are built in the same pattern, most portfolios are going to do the same thing at the same time. Like ordinary houses after a Category 4 hurricane, assets could be devastated.

As we see one of the few houses left standing after Hurricane Michael, I did everything I could to inspire my colleagues to approach the task as those homeowners did.

“It’s the first house that either one of us had ever built,” said Dr. Lebron Lackey, one of the homeowners.

The house was built with concrete walls. The foundation included 40-foot pilings. Rebar was placed through all of the walls to increase stability. The additions added about 15 to 20 percent more expense than usual.

In the investment world, cost is king. The lower the cost the better. But that answer addresses a different question. To “run for cover” by keeping your assets intact begin by determining how much loss you can accept. Followed by how active management strategies can be applied on behalf of your personalized goals.

Then look to see what asset classes outside of cash, bonds and stocks can be added to your portfolio. I count eight asset classes at Yale Endowment, for example. A stool with eight legs is simply stronger than a two- or three-legged stool to hold up the weight. Even in a hurricane.

When it comes to cost, it is often the case that you get what you pay for.

Suppose the CFOs are wrong about the severity and the timing. Just suppose it’s not another recession around the corner, because it could turn out to be a worldwide Great Depression II.

Something astrophysicist Michio Kaku said at a 2014 conference I attended should have happened 10 years ago. Act as if another depression is in the cards. If it doesn’t happen, who cares? If it does happen, prepared investors may be able to take advantage of opportunities they never saw coming.

It’s worth noting that on a per capita basis, more Americans became millionaires after the Great Depression than any other time in history. As I wrote just before Thanksgiving: Be thankful for cash. And get ready. Winter is coming.

John L. Grace is president of Investor’s Advantage Corp, a Los Angeles-area financial planning firm that has been helping investors manage wealth and prepare for a more prosperous future since 1979.

His On the Money column runs monthly in The Wave.

John Grace Contributing Columnist

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Activism

EBMUD Enshrines the Legacy of its First Black Board Member William ‘Bill’ Patterson

Patterson, who died in 2025 at the age of 94, was remembered as a tireless advocate, mentor, and public servant whose influence shaped generations across the East Bay.

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

William “Bill” Patterson, Jr. Courtesy Peralta College District

By Carla Thomas

On Tuesday, May 12, Oakland honored a towering community figure, William “Bill” Patterson, with the unveiling of a bronze plaque and the renaming of the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) boardroom in downtown Oakland.

Board members, family, colleagues, and mentees gathered to reflect on Patterson’s enduring legacy at the meeting.

Patterson, who died in 2025 at the age of 94, was remembered as a tireless advocate, mentor, and public servant whose influence shaped generations across the East Bay.

“This is well deserved,” said Patterson’s cousin, Maria Simon. “He was such a big part of the Oakland community. It’s heartwarming to know he was known by so many people.

“So many credit him with helping them get their first job. It was especially meaningful when he held the Bible for Mayor Barbara Lee’s swearing-in. He truly believed in the goodness of people, in possibilities, and in the power to bring things to fruition.”

Oakland NAACP President Cynthia Adams described Patterson as a father figure. “He took me under his wing,” she said. “This recognition is a very special moment.”

Fellow NAACP member Robert “Bob” Harris echoed that sentiment, recalling Patterson as “a great member of the NAACP and a proud Kappa Alpha Psi man.”

Patterson’s son, William Patterson Jr., reflected on his father’s professional life.

“My father loved his community, and he loved working with EBMUD and spoke highly of his colleagues,” he said, standing alongside cousin Rise Jones Pichon, a former Santa Clara County Superior Court judge.

EBMUD Board President Luz Gómez praised Patterson’s resilience and dedication.

“As his health declined, he would spend half the day in the hospital and still come to our meetings,” she said. “There will never be another like him.”

Activist Cheryl Sudduth highlighted Patterson’s commitment to workforce development and youth empowerment. “He had the vision to bring water careers to students and the next generation,” she said, noting that participants in one of his initiatives received $2,000 stipends.

Sudduth also summed up one of Patterson’s guiding philosophies: “He told me it’s not enough to have a seat at the table. You need to have access to quality resources, the tools to build the table, and the skills to ensure everyone there can contribute. We should be more than a representation; we should reflect determination.”

EBMUD Board Member Andy Katz emphasized the importance of remembrance.

“When you die, you die twice, physically, and then when people stop saying your name,” he said. “By honoring him this way, his name will continue to be spoken for years to come.”

Others in attendance reflected on Patterson’s broad impact.

“It was a joy to watch him accomplish so much,” said EBMUD Board Member Marguerite Young.

Business leader, Delane Sims added that Patterson became a trusted advisor to multiple Oakland mayors.

“We need young people to learn about him so they can become leaders capable of creating meaningful change,” Sims said.

Following public comments, attendees witnessed the unveiling of the bronze plaque in the boardroom foyer, along with signage officially renaming the space in Patterson’s honor.

Born in 1931, Patterson devoted more than seven decades to public service in Oakland and the broader East Bay. Appointed to the EBMUD Board in 1997, he served for 27 years and became its first African American board president. His leadership extended beyond water governance into civil rights, education, and community development.

A three-term president of the Oakland NAACP, Patterson also advised Oakland’s first Black mayor, Lionel Wilson, and played a key role in advancing equity, public health, and environmental justice. He served on the Urban Strategies Council and the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, further shaping public policy.

In 1971, Patterson was a founding director of the Peralta Colleges Foundation, which provides financial assistance and support to students across Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College, and Merritt College.

In addition, Patterson mentored countless young people through Oakland’s recreation programs, helping guide future leaders and even professional athletes. Though slight in stature, Patterson will always be remembered as a giant of a man.

Oakland Post

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Arts and Culture

Against All Odds: Mary Jackson’s Journey to NASA Engineer

Jackson’s life took a significant turn when she was offered the opportunity to work in a wind tunnel, a facility used to test the effects of air moving over aircraft structures. It was here that her passion for engineering truly took flight. However, there was a challenge: to become an engineer, she needed to take advanced courses that were only offered at a segregated high school.

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Mary Jackson. Public domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

When we talk about breaking barriers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the name Mary Jackson deserves a place at the top of the list.

Jackson was born in 1921 in Hampton, Virginia, a place that would later become central to her groundbreaking work. From an early age, she showed a strong aptitude for math and science—subjects that, at the time, were not widely encouraged for African American women. But Jackson was not one to be limited by expectations. She earned degrees in mathematics and physical science from Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), setting the foundation for a career that would change history.

Before joining NASA, Jackson worked as a teacher and later as a research mathematician at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the agency that eventually became NASA. Like many African American women of her time, she began her career as a “human computer,” performing complex calculations by hand. It was in this environment that she worked alongside brilliant minds like Katherine Johnson, forming part of a powerful group of African American women whose calculations helped launch America into space.

Jackson did something truly remarkable. She petitioned the city of Hampton for permission to attend those classes. She didn’t accept “no” as an answer. And she won.

In 1958, Jackson became NASA’s first African American female engineer.

But Jackson’s impact didn’t stop there.

Later in her career, she chose to step away from her engineering position—not because she couldn’t continue, but because she wanted to make a difference. She moved into roles focused on equal opportunity, working to ensure that women and minorities had access to the same opportunities she fought so hard to get.

Jackson’s story gained wider recognition through the book and film Hidden Figures, which highlighted the contributions of African American women at NASA. But long before the spotlight found her, Jackson was doing the work—quietly, persistently, and brilliantly.

Jackson retired from Langley in 1985. Among her many honors were an Apollo Group Achievement Award and being named Langley’s Volunteer of the Year in 1976. She served as the chair of one of the center’s annual United Way campaigns and a member of the National Technical Association (the oldest African American technical organization in the United States).

She and her husband Levi had an open-door policy for young Langley recruits trying to gain their footing in a new town and a new career. A 1976 Langley Researcher profile might have done the best job capturing Mary’s spirit and character, calling her a “gentlelady, wife and mother, humanitarian and scientist.”

For Jackson, science and service went hand in hand.

She died on Feb. 11, 2005, at age 83, at a convalescent home in Hampton, Virginia.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

The Marin City Flea Market Is Back

The Marin City Flea Market returns on May 23, offering arts, crafts, vintage items, and collectibles. The market aims to uplift local vendors and celebrate cultural diversity.

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Customers shopping in Marin City Flea Market. Photo courtesy of marincityflea.org.

By Godfrey Lee

After a long absence, Marin City will once again hold its flea market. The market will have its grand opening on Saturday, May 23, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the St. Andrew Presbyterian Church parking lot on 101 Donahue St. It will be held every fourth Saturday of the month

The market will be free to the public

There will be arts, crafts, vintage, collectibles, and other items on sale at the market. Interested vendors can contact info@marincityflea.org or text (415) 484-2984 for more information.

“The Marin City Flea Market’s mission is to uplift local vendors, celebrate cultural diversity, and provide an accessible community space where creativity, entrepreneurship, and connection can thrive,” says their website, marincityflea.org.

The flea market is sponsored and run by the Rotary Club of Marin City.

For more information, contact info@marincityflea.org. Or text to (415) 484-2984