Austin Urban Market Focus of November 9 Economic Perspectives

Don and Sharon Ellerby, owners of Austin Urban Market, are the November 9 guests on Economic Perspectives on KAZI 88.7 FM, 5:30-6 p.m. Austin Urban Market was started in 2009 to encourage cooperative economics by providing Austin area artists and other entrepreneurs a showcase to market their products and services to the local community.  Austin Urban Market will be showcasing local entrepreneurs on November 14, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Villager Newspaper, 1223 Rosewood Ave. as part of the 2009 E.A.S.T. Austin Studio Tour.

Sharon Ellerby

Don and Sharon are also owners of African Visions which provides handmade natural & organic hair and skin care products and African and African American artwork, jewelry and accessories.

Don Ellerby is a native of Austin who has been involved with numerous community organizations and activities.  His volunteer work has included working on the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department Black History Month Heritage Festival, Texas Legislative Black Caucus, and Texas Senate Black Caucus.

Sharon Ellerby is also a native of Austin.   She has been featured in Southern Living Magazine’s People & Places Making a Difference (March 2009) and the Villager Newspaper (March 2009) and won the Big Austin’s Citibank Foundation/Women & Co. Award in April 2009.

Strategies for Career Success Focus of October 26 Economic Perspectives

In this time of economic and job insecurity, people need to make their mark and prove that they are essential and indispensable to their company. According to Carla Harris, a twenty year veteran of Wall Street, knowledge and diligence simply aren’t enough to successfully climb the corporate ladder in today’s competitive work environment.  The October 26 edition of Economic Perspectives on KAZI 88.7 FM features an interview with Harris, author of EXPECT TO WIN: Proven Strategies for Success from a Wall Street Vet.   In her book Carla looks closely at her own ascent to the top and offers strategies that will ensure career advancement and success in any industry.

During her twenty-year career on Wall Street, Harris she’s executed the IPO’s for UPS, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and Redback, as well as the $3.2 billion common stock transaction for Immunex, one of the largest biotechnology offerings in United States History. While climbing the competitive corporate ladder, Harris sought guidance from her mentors and superiors, but found some of their career advice too general. As her own career advanced, Harris built her “key survival tools” or “pearls,” and vowed when she reached upper management and people looked to her for advice, she would provide them with what they needed to do to fulfill their true career potential.

In EXPECT TO WIN is Harris offers advice in an easy-to-read format using “Carla’s Pearls.” Her proven strategies of success include:

• You Are the Captain of Your Career: The 90 Day Rule
• Leveraging Your Voice: Articulate Your Views and Expectations
• Power in the Network: Competitive Advantage
• Expect to Win: Show Up With Your Best Self Every Day

Carla Harris

Carla Harris is currently a managing director for Morgan Stanley and has spent over seventeen years of her career in capital markets. She has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including Black Enterprise’s “75 Most Powerful Women in Business” (2006), Black Enterprise’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” (2006), Fortune’s “The Most Influential List” (2005), Ebony Magazine’s “15 Corporate Women at the Top” (2004), Essence Magazine’s list of “The 50 Women Who Are Shaping the World” (2003), and Fortune’s list of “The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in America” (2002).

The Silent Depression: How are Minorities Faring in the Economic Downturn

On Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 10:00 a.m., the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing titled “The Silent Depression: How are Minorities Faring in the Economic Downturn.” The hearing examined the disparate effects of the current economic downturn on minority populations in the United States, with particular attention on the recent increases in unemployment and home foreclosures. Additionally, the hearing explored the effectiveness of Federal government initiatives in ensuring that minority populations are adequately included in the nation’s efforts toward economic recovery.  Enclosed below is an excerpt from the written testoimony provided by Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League.

The State of Africans Americans in Our National Economy

I do not say this to alarm or inflame.  I am just stating a plain fact based upon our experience that includes decades of service delivery and research.  We see it in the faces of the people who come to us for help each year.  We hear it in the voices of the men and women seeking jobs that just aren’t there.  We feel it in the pain of those who come to us for help in keeping a roof over their heads.

Marc Morial

And our direct experience is borne out by our empirical research.  Each year, the National Urban League publishes the Equality Index as part of our annual State of Black America report.  The Equality Index is an indicator of the relative status of blacks and whites in America.  It consists of five sub-indices: economics, education, health, social justice and civic engagement. Equality is indicated by an index of 100%, therefore an Equality Index less than 100% suggests that blacks are doing worse relative to whites, and an Equality Index greater than 100% suggests that blacks are doing better than whites. 

According to our 2009 Equality Index, African Americans are at about 71% compared with white Americans.  The Economic Index is 57.4%.

According to our 2009 State of Black America Report: nationally, the typical African-American family today possesses less than 10 percent of the net worth of the average white family; almost 30 percent of black families have zero or negative net worth; and far fewer blacks than whites benefit from inherited wealth or assets.

While this is but a snapshot, it paints a dire picture.  Among other things, it illustrates that African Americans just don’t have the cushion that protects us from economic catastrophe when an economy goes into freefall.  

We are starting to see some hopeful signs in other areas of the economy that indicate we may be turning course.  Of course, the job numbers are a lagging indicator, so we hope that they will begin to improve as other areas of the economy begin to point to recovery.

However, even if this is the case, it does not necessarily mean that the African American community will be out of the woods.  In fact, our long-term research indicates a troubling trend that must be proactively reversed.

Catching Up From the End of the Line

According to our State of Black America 2009, African Americans have been doing progressively worse in each economic expansions.  For example, median household income increased during the 1991 expansion, but declined in the 2001 expansion.  

During the first six years of the 1991-2001 recovery, real median income for African-American households grew by 15.6 percent while the real median income of white households grew by 8.9 percent.   Poverty rates declined by 19 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively.  For the duration of the 1992 expansion, real median household income grew by 23.6 percent for African Americans and by 13 percent for whites, while poverty rates declined by 30.6 percent and 17 percent, respectively.  

Although unemployment declined for both groups during each of the most recent expansions, the six-year decline for African Americans during the 1991-2001 expansion was nearly six times greater than the decline during the 2001-2007 expansion.  For whites, the magnitude of the difference was thirteen times.

Between 2001 and 2007, whites saw a net gain in the rate of homeownership (1.2 percent) while African Americans experienced a net loss (-1.0 percent)

To read the entire written testimony of Morial go to: http://groc.edgeboss.net/download/groc/fullcommittee/testimony-marcmorial.pdf.

To peruse all the written testimony provided at the haring go to http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2604.

U.S. House Committee Probes Economic Plight of Minorities in Recession

The following was released by the press office of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee

U.S. Representative Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY), the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, today announced that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is holding a congressional hearing, entitled “The Silent Depression: How are Minorities Faring in the Economic Downturn?” to examine the disparate effects of the current economic downturn on minority populations, with special emphasis on the rise in unemployment and home foreclosures.

Congressman Edolphus Towns

The hearing, scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building, will feature the heads of several leading minority organizations, including the National Urban League, National Council of La Raza, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Congress of American Indians and National Black Chamber of Commerce. Also set to testify are the Honorable Raymond Skinner of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, Chief Operating Officer James Carr of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and Christian Weller, PhD, of the Center for American Progress Action Foundation.

“The inability to find gainful employment has crushed the hopes of achieving the American dream for so many families in minority communities,” said Chairman Towns. “For us to move ahead as a nation, we have to examine why the African-American unemployment rate in several communities more than doubles that of whites. We must also take a look at the high rate of subprime loans and default mortgages within minority communities that are expanding an already enormous debt disparity.”

Although the recession has had devastating consequences for the nation’s economy and a direct effect on nearly every American household, minorities are at least 40 percent more likely to be unemployed than whites, according to a study by the Center for American Progress, with the highest rates of unemployment in the African American population. In states with significant minority populations like New York State, the African American unemployment rate has soared to 15.1 percent, compared to 6.4 percent for whites. In New York City, where minorities make up more than 50% of the population, the rise in unemployment for African-Americans has spiked to four times that of whites, according to a recent New York Times article.

Unscrupulous lending practices may compound the economic crisis, with home foreclosures higher amongst minorities than whites. Since the recession began, home foreclosures increased dramatically, but experts agree that for African-Americans and Hispanics, record foreclosures may be the result of lax enforcement of the Fair Housing Act or reverse redlining, homeownership schemes targeted at minority groups. Wednesday’s Oversight Committee hearing will review these factors.

“The fact of the matter is that the current economic downturn has amplified an already burgeoning economic gap for minorities,” said Chairman Towns. “The role of race in unemployment and other economic trends is something we must analyze because for minorities this is not a recession but is, in fact, a depression that could potentially alter decades of economic progress.”

“Missing in Action: Black Women in the Boardroom” Focus of September 21 Economic Perspectives

Dr. Wendy Johnson, author of Missing in Action: Black Women in the Boardroom, will be the September 21 guest on Economic Perspectives, 5:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. on KAZI 88.7 FM.  Dr. Cornel West, a Professor of Religion and African American Studies at Princeton University, describes Missing in Action as “a powerful intervention into our public discourse about the American business world. It is a courageous-and badly needed-book that lays bare the ways in which the grand talent and genius of Black women remain relatively untapped. Don’t miss this book!”

Dr. Johnson, originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin has over 20 years of business experience, a BS in Accounting/Economics from Lakeland College, an MBA from LeTourneau University and a PhD in Applied Management and Decision Sciences from Walden University.

She is the President of Emerge Consulting Group, LLC, a management consulting firm and the parent company of Dr. Wendy and Emerge Publishing.  Dr. Johnson is also president of the Houston chapter of the National Black MBA Association.

African American Unemployment Rate Hits 23 Year High, Healthcare Job Growth Continues

After declining for three straight months, the unemployment rate for African Americans rose from 14.5 percent in July to 15.1 percent in August according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The August unemployment rate for African Americans is the highest since November of 1985 when it was 15.6 percent.  Unemployment for whites in August was 8.9 percent and for Hispanics it was 13.0 percent.  Overall unemployment was 9.7 percent.

The latest report also indicated that African American male unemployment rose from 15.8 percent in July to 17.0 percent in August and rose from 11.7 percent in July to 11.9 percent in August for African American females.

Employment Trends By Industry

Employment in health care continued to rise in August (28,000), with gains in ambulatory care and in nursing and residential care. Employment in hospitals was little changed in August; job growth in the industry slowed in early 2009 and employment has been flat since May.  Health care has added 544,000 jobs since the start of the recession. 

In August, construction employment declined by 65,000, in line with the trend since May. Monthly losses had averaged 117,000 over the 6 months ending in April. Employment in the construction industry has contracted by 1.4 million since the onset of the recession. Starting in early 2009, the larger share of monthly job losses shifted from the residential to the nonresidential and heavy construction components.  In mining, employment declined by 9,000 over the month.

In August, manufacturing employment continued to trend downward, with a decline of 63,000. The pace of job loss has slowed throughout manufacturing in recent months. Motor vehicles and parts lost 15,000 jobs in August, partly offsetting a 31,000 employment increase in July.

Financial activities shed 28,000 jobs in August, with declines spread throughout the industry. Job loss in financial activities has slowed since the beginning of the year. Employment in the industry has declined by 537,000 since the start of the recession.

Wholesale trade employment fell by 17,000 in August. Employment in information continued to trend down over the month.

Employment in the retail trade industry was little changed in August.  Employment also was little changed in professional and business services over the month. From May through August, monthly employment declines in the sector averaged 46,000, compared with 138,000 per month from November through April. Job loss in its temporary help services component has slowed markedly over the last 4 months.

Employment was little changed in August both in transportation and warehousing, and in leisure and hospitality.

BizOntheRise.org: New Web Site Features Diverse Entrepreneurs with Innovative Business Solutions

Even in these days of economic uncertainty, the eternal optimism and unflagging energy of creative entrepreneurs insures that they will continue to develop innovative products and services that solve our problems, meet our needs, and fulfill our dreams.  BizOntheRise.org is a new web site that will feature stories about business and social entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds that have developed innovative solutions to the challenges of today.

Alvin Brown

The first entrepreneur featured on BizOntheRise is Alvin Brown, president of Ladder Jumpers. Brown has developed a free service to help family and friends communicate during a natural or man-made disaster, WeAreSafeandSound.com.  During a time when the Gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana seem to have a major hurricane hit nearly every year, Brown’s commitment is worthy of notice.

Here is an excerpt from the article on Alvin Brown:

Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, Hurricane Ike.  If you, family, or friends were in the middle of one of these forces of nature you likely wanted a reliable way to contact family and friends to make sure everyone was okay.  Now an enterprising young man has developed a service to insure you can communicate with them during a natural or man-made disaster, WeAreSafeAndSound.com…To read the entire article on Alvin Brown and listen to a short interview click here.

Entrepreneurial Artist Focus of August 10 Economic Perspectives

The Bydee Art Gallery has been a fixture in the Austin art scene almost continuously since 1990-with a one year detour from 2005-2006 when the owner moved to Philadelphia.  Spawned from the unique vision of Trinidadian artist Brian Joseph, Joseph has successfully fused the spirit of the artist with the cold hard reality of business.  Brian Joseph will discuss his experience as an entrepreneur and artist on the August 10th edition of Economic Perspectives on KAZI 88.7FM.

Brian Joseph and his art

Joseph started painting in 1986 with no formal training.  His style of painting promotes education and diversity through the fictitious colorful Bydee People which reminds one of  life in the Carribean.  Joseph is  a poet, motivational speaker, and is also the author of four books: Color Me Bydee, Happy Calypso Clowns, People Come In All Colors and Words of Bydee.  He has provided commissioned art for a number of significant institutions including  Auburn University, City of Austin, National Education Agency, Texas A & M University, and the University of Texas at Austin.

Joseph has a bachelors degree in sociology and anthropology from Tougaloo University and a masters degree in urban studies from Trinity University.  Currently he is writing his fifth book titled From Brian Joseph to the Bydee Man.

Social Media and Leadership Training Focus of July 27 Economic Perspectives

Building your business through social media and leadership development for African American and Hispanic managers and entrepreneurs will be the two topics of discussion on the July 27 Economic Perspectives.

Rachel Johnston

On the first half of Economic Perspectives, Austin entrepreneur Rachel Johnston will discuss the best strategies for enhancing small businesses through the use of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other online social media tools.  Johnston, who is the owner of OperTuneUs, is sponsoring a social media training seminar for small businesses, Social Network with a Strategy, on July 30, 3 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.  Johnston has over 20 years technical experience working in computer and web technology including web design, internet strategy, and computer system design.  She has a B.S. in computer science from Central State University and is a certified project manager.

On the second half of Economic Perspectives, Belinda Matingou, president of the Austin chapter of the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) and Victor Alonzo, president of the Austin chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, will discuss the leadership training that will be provided for African American and Hsipanic managers, executives, students, and entrepreneurs at their annual Texas Leadership, Education, and Diversity Conference being held July 31, 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.  The conference will focus on developing leadership and branding skills and straegies for a fast changing economy.

African Americans and Hispanics Have Lower Participation Rates in 401(k)Plans

The following was provided by the press office of Ariel Investments and Hewitt Associates.

Significant differences can be found across race and ethnicity in the way U.S. employees save and invest in their 401(k) plans, according to 401(k) Plans in Living Color: A Study of 401(k) Savings Disparities Across Racial and Ethnic Groups — The Ariel/Hewitt Study. This pioneering report — the largest, most comprehensive examination of 401(k) saving and investing behaviors of African-American, Hispanic, Asian and white employees — found that regardless of age or income, African-American and Hispanic workers have lower participation rates and contribute less to their 401(k) plans than their white and Asian counterparts. As a result, their 401(k) account balances are negatively impacted and chances for a comfortable retirement significantly compromised.

The Ariel/Hewitt Study analyzed 401(k) information for nearly 3 million employees across 57 large, primarily FORTUNE 500 companies in the U.S. It was conducted by the Ariel Education Initiative, the nonprofit affiliate of Ariel Investments, and Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company. The Chicago Urban League, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the National Council of La Raza, the National Urban League, and The Raben Group also participated. The study was funded with a grant from The Rockefeller Foundation.

In response to the study, Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, remarked, “401(k) plans are now the primary way Americans save for their golden years. Most are unaware there are significant savings disparities in 401(k) plans across racial and ethnic groups. This study reveals important differences that must be addressed if retirement security is to be a reality for all Americans.

Mellody Hobson

The results of the study show that African-American and Hispanic workers are less likely than their Asian and white counterparts to participate in their 401(k) plans. Two-thirds (66 percent) of African-American employees and 65 percent of Hispanic employees participate in their company’s defined contribution plans, compared to 77 percent of white workers and 76 percent of Asian workers. Even after adjusting for factors such as age and income, the disparity remains.
Additionally, African-Americans and Hispanics contribute to their 401(k) plans at much lower levels than their white or Asian counterparts. Among those who save, white employees contributed 7.9 percent of income, compared to Hispanic and African-American workers, who contributed 6.3 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively. At 9.4 percent, Asian workers had the highest contribution rate of all groups.

Not surprisingly, lower participation and contribution rates lead to smaller average account balances for African-American and Hispanic workers. The Ariel/Hewitt study illustrates this point dramatically. For example, employees who earn between $30,000 and $59,999 show a significant difference in 401(k) account balances: African-Americans ($21,224), Hispanics ($22,017), Asians ($32,590), and whites ($35,551). This disparity exists even at higher pay levels. For instance, African-American employees who earn $120,000 or more have saved $154,902 in their 401(k) plans compared to $223,408 for white workers in the same pay range. While other factors influence account balances, the variation exists even after these adjustments.

In addition to participation and contribution rates, The Ariel/Hewitt study examined three other factors that can further impact an employee’s 401(k) plan balance — equity exposure, loans and withdrawals.

The findings revealed that African-American workers are less likely than Hispanics, whites and Asians to invest in equities. African-Americans had two-thirds (66 percent) of their 401(k) assets invested in the stock market. By comparison, whites and Asians had 72 percent and 73 percent, respectively, of their 401(k) plan assets invested in equities. Hispanics had 70 percent of their assets invested in equities. These findings are compelling because the stock market has historically outperformed all other investment options over the long term. It is generally understood among investment experts that employees with long-term time horizons should have a significant amount of their assets invested in equities.

Barbara Hogg

African-Americans are also more likely than the study population overall to have a loan and are more than twice as likely to take a hardship withdrawal from their 401(k) plans. Nearly two of every five African-American workers and almost a third of Hispanic workers borrowed from their retirement accounts compared to just one in five white workers. By contrast, Asian workers were the least likely to take a loan against their 401(k) plans, with less than one in five doing so. “These statistics are troubling because loans and withdrawals jeopardize long-term financial security to satisfy immediate needs. The impact is heightened during an economic downturn, when unemployment rises and withdrawals and loan defaults increase. We now realize this risk is magnified for African-American and Hispanic workers based on the results of our study,” said Barbara Hogg, principal at Hewitt Associates and co-leader of The Ariel/Hewitt Study.

“Without a significant effort to improve savings and investing behaviors, African-American and Hispanic workers are in danger of retiring into poverty,” states Hobson.

The Ariel/Hewitt Study outlines five decisive recommendations for policymakers and employers. These recommendations include:

• Encouraging employers to voluntarily collect and report 401(k) plan data by race and ethnicity. Knowledge is power, and collecting and reporting data about 401(k) plan participants would enable employers to know and manage where gaps exist among their workers.

• Modifying loan requirements to decrease the likelihood of default. Extending the amount of time a terminating employee has to pay off a loan may improve overall retirement savings, particularly during challenging economic times such as these. Other options could include allowing loan repayments after termination or exploring new options for allowing loans to roll over from one employer to another.

• Mandating financial education at all levels in both private and public schools to boost financial literacy. A financial literacy curriculum would provide generations of future employees a comprehensive understanding of both the mechanics and importance of sound money management, saving and investing.

• Designing 401(k) plans in a way that benefits a broad, diverse employee base. Features like automatic enrollment with high default contribution rates and periodic contribution increases can go a long way, effectively driving strong, robust participation across all demographics.

• Communicating and educating employees in a way that helps them make wise choices. Creating user-friendly and easily understood communication enables workers to learn more about how to effectively manage and grow their savings. This communication should incorporate different cultural perspectives that resonate with diverse groups of employees.

“By taking immediate action, employers, government and employees can make a big impact in helping all Americans achieve a comfortable standard of living in their retirement years,” concludes Hogg.