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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California Launches Study on Mileage Tax to Potentially Replace Gas Tax as Republicans Push Back

Under current law, California depends heavily on revenue from the gas tax to fund roads, highways, and infrastructure, but those revenues are projected to shrink as electric vehicle use grows and overall gasoline consumption drops. The mileage study would look at a “road charge” system where drivers pay based on how many miles they drive, rather than how much gas they buy.

Published

3 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City is the author of AB 1421. File photo.

By Tanu Henry, California Black Media

California lawmakers are moving forward with a study to explore a mileage-based tax as a potential replacement for the state’s traditional gas tax — a shift supporters say is driven by declining fuel tax revenues as more drivers switch to fuel-efficient and electric vehicles.

The research, tied to Assembly Bill (AB) 1421, would extend and support work by the state’s Road Usage Charge Technical Advisory Committee through 2035.

The bill does not yet enact a new tax. Instead, it extends the study and advisory work until 2035 and would have the Legislature receive findings and recommendations, with a report due by Jan. 1, 2027.

Republicans in the California Legislature have been vocal in their opposition. Assembly Republican Leader Heath Flora criticized the proposal.

“We already pay the highest gas taxes in the nation. Now Sacramento is talking about adding a new tax for every mile people drive,” Flora said. “Piling on another tax right now shows just how out of touch politicians in Sacramento are with the reality working families face.”

The plan has drawn broader GOP criticism from leaders outside the Legislature as well. California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton called a mileage fee “absolutely outrageous” and said, if elected, he would veto the tax, adding that tracking and charging drivers for every mile is unacceptable.

Supporters say the study is a pragmatic response to long-term funding challenges.

On the Assembly Floor on Jan. 29, Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D–Suisun City), the bill’s author, said that California’s transportation funding is “becoming less stable, less equitable, and less sustainable as more drivers switch to fuel-efficient and zero-emission vehicles.”

“Drivers using the same roads often pay different amounts for that use,” Wilson continued. “Low income and rural commuters who must drive farther and less efficient vehicles can pay more while others contribute less despite roadway impacts.”

Wilson and other supporters contend that a per-mile road charge could ensure that all drivers contribute fairly to the costs of maintaining roads, regardless of the type of vehicle they drive.