Economics

Opinion: Economic Recovery Zones; Boom or Bust?

Published

7 years ago

April 29, 2019

Curtis O. Robinson, Sr.

God on Wall Street

Rev. Curtis O. Robinson, Sr.

When Pres. Trump signed into law the overreaching tax cut in 2017, what was suspected was true in that wealthy American elites received another break.

According to an article in Time magazine, “The biggest benefits, though, go to the top 1 percent, who are projected to receive an average tax break of $62,000 in 2018, while the middle one-fifth of income earners got an average tax cut of $1,090 — about $20 per biweekly paycheck.”

So, once more, the wealthiest Americans received help that they really didn’t need.

It is true that the economic recovery has been strong since the great recession of 2007-2009. But when we see the level of homelessness in major urban settings, it doesn’t look like a recovery at all. It looks more like people continuing to fall through the cracks of the richest country in the world.

Unemployment is low in most of America, but in places like Stockton, Oakland, and Youngstown, OH, unemployment is still quite high. I have heard that unemployment in East Oakland is close to 8%, while the state of California lists unemployment at 4.2%, and the rest of the national average is 3.5% to 3.8%.

Somewhere cradled in the Trump tax cut is a piece of legislation called the Economic Opportunity Fund. This fund is designed to reach into economically deprived areas and allow investors to roll over their capital gains from the stock market.

Typically, when investors sell their stocks or bonds, the gains from the principal investment get taxed as capital gains. However, because of a Republican Congress, the rich get a chance to get richer.

Instead of selling and being taxed on profits, investors can now put that money to work into places in the U.S. to help rebuild these neglected communities. East and West Oakland are prime examples of an Economic Recovery Zone.

The potential could be tremendous, as this pot of gold is said to contain more than $1 trillion in it. The wealthy get an opportunity to make tax-free investments once more if they leave their investment in tact for five to 10 years.

At 10 years, there is no tax at all. We can only hope that this will help because poor people continue to hurt, while rich folk continue to have “champagne wishes and caviar dreams.”

Curtis O. Robinson, Sr.

Posts by Curtis O. Robinson, Sr.

Up Next

Seniors and Others Benefit From State Income Tax Credit

Don't Miss

Black Florida mayor brings presidential campaign to Watts

Curtis O. Robinson, Sr.

Click to comment

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.