Chevron North American Vice President Bruce Niemeyer

While all the mayoral candidates were busy talking about creating jobs, the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board was launching its 7th annual Imagine Career Week focused on mentoring, training and inspiring youth to get ready for the estimated 3 million permanent science, technology, engineering mathematics (STEM) careers that will need to be filled in the energy field alone.
The 3RWIB kicked off the week’s activities with a breakfast meeting for business and education leaders at the Carnegie Science Center, featuring a panel discussion and a keynote presentation by Chevron North American Vice President Bruce Niemeyer.
Investment board CEO Stefani Pashman welcomed everyone, thanked her partners at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and the Citizens Bank Foundation for underwriting their efforts for another three years before introducing Niemeyer.
“This is about youth going into companies and taking those first steps toward a career,” she said.
Niemeyer said getting kids interested in STEM careers is critical not only to the strength of the region but to the companies based here.

“When I came out of school as a petroleum engineer 30 years ago, all you really needed to work in the oils field was a strong back and the skill to turn a wrench,” he said. “Now, our business is high-tech and we need a cadre of scientists and engineers—who are in school today—to create the energy of the future.”
He pointed to three things, by themselves unrelated to energy, that have made what was impossible two decades ago, almost routine; materials science, computer advancers and global satellite positioning technology.
“We have platforms that drill in water 3,000-feet deep. They can’t be anchored, and a four-inch diameter pipe that long is very flexible so it has to remain straight,” he said. “GPS can keep that kind of ship practically motionless in the ocean.”
But getting kids excited about engineering can be tough. The answer is hands-on working experience.
“My interest didn’t peak until I was actually able to interact with people who were actually doing the work,” he said. “That’s why I’m asking leaders in this community to get involved. We need to facilitate employment engagement, create awareness, promote internships and encourage mentoring. Why—because a skilled workforce is critical. Corporate ingenuity depends on it. The talent pool is straining, and it’s the socially responsible thing to do.”
Beth Crow, Citizens Bank vice president and senior manager for public affairs, said last year they took in 10 summer interns, paid them each a $2,000 stipend and plan to do more this year.
“Citizens was committed to providing an experience that went beyond doing menial tasks,” she said. “We tried to expose our interns to a variety of experiences so they could get a sense of what the various aspects of banking are and what the possibilities could be for them.”
Pashman has sent an email to all who attended the kick off event, and other major employers asking for their participation.
“The employment opportunities for young people within Pittsburgh and nationwide have been on the decline.  It’s time to bend the curve and open our doors to our future workers,” she wrote. “One way to get involved—host a high school intern this summer through WorkReady Pittsburgh and give young people the workplace experiences they need to learn how to become great employees, entrepreneurs and leaders.”
Rick Adams, executive director of CCAC’s Frieda G. Shapira Learning Center said he expects the college to be involved. Carl Cooper, board chair of the Manchester Academic Charter School wants to get as many of his students internships as possible.
“We’re starting an entrepreneurship institute, so I’m here for our kids,” he said. “Start them early so that the so that they’re job ready.”
For more information on 3RWIB internship and mentoring initiatives, call 412-552-7090 or visit www.trwib.org.
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Beyonce performs on stage during her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour 2013, April 29, at the o2 Arena in London, UK. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision for Parkwood Entertainment/AP Images)

by Catriona Davies

(CNN) -- With 17 Grammy awards, $75 million in world record sales and a fourth world tour underway, Beyonce is one of the world's biggest names in show business.

CHARLENE CROWELL

(NNPA)—The small-dollar loans that generate long-lasting debt for consumers and cost them billions of dollars each year are drawing the active attention of legislators and regulators alike. On April 24, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a white paper on payday loans made by storefronts and by banks. Despite years of bank efforts to portray themselves as anything but payday lenders, the CFPB strips them of that cover.
According to CFPB Director Richard Cordray, “What we found is there is not much difference from the consumer’s perspective, between payday loans and deposit advance loans. They have similar purposes and, as it turns out, similar usage by consumers.”
At the same time, three members of Congress—Congressional Black Caucus Members Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and John Conyers, D-Mich., were joined by Oregon’s Rep. Suzanne Bonamici in urging federal regulators to take actions on bank payday loans.
“We urge you to take meaningful joint regulatory action to ensure that no bank, regardless of its prudential regulator, traps borrowers in high-cost payday loans,” the members said in a statement. “Our constituents, and consumers everywhere, deserve better from our nation’s financial institutions.”

The following day, two regulators, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced new regulatory actions to address potential consumer risks associated with the products as well as the safety and soundness of operations.  The two regulators’ actions are very similar, focusing on a borrower’s ability to repay while meeting ongoing expenses, safe and sound underwriting, and limiting the numbers of loans.
According to Thomas J. Curry, OCC Comptroller, “We have significant concerns regarding the misuse of deposit advance products.”
OCC supervises all national banks and federal savings associations with combined assets of $10.1 trillion, representing 71 percent of total U.S. commercial banking assets, according to its most recent annual report.
Similarly, FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg said, “The proposed supervisory guidance released today reflects the serious risks that certain deposit advance products may pose to financial institutions and their customers.”
FDIC insures deposits in more than 7,000 banks and savings associations.
According to CFPB’s findings these actions could benefit about 12 million households that borrow payday loans each year, a potential reduction in the $7 billion in annual fees that are generated by more than 18,200 payday storefronts across the country.
CFPB’s report examined 15 million payday loans made during a 12-month period, covering more than 90 percent of the market. Both storefront and bank versions exposed consumers to the risk of being caught in a revolving door of debt. What was sold as a short-term bridge became an expensive, long-term loan. Risky loan structure, loose lending standards, sustained usage and accompanying high costs were cited as characteristics of both products.
According to the report, 75 percent of storefront payday lending revenue is derived from borrowers taking out 10 or more loans a year. For 68 percent of these borrowers, their annual income is $30,000 or less.
Among the findings:
•Nearly one-in-four borrowers received government assistance or benefits such as Social Security, disability, unemployment or welfare benefits;
•The average borrower took 11 loans in the 12-month period, paying $574 in fees for $392 in credit; and
•Despite lender attempts to reject the use of an annual percentage rate (APR), a two-week loan with a $15 fee per $100 borrowed is actually a 391 percent APR.
On banks’ deposit advance loans, CFPB also found that:
•Borrowers usually had much lower average balances than other bank customers, suggesting a smaller financial cushion to cover unexpected shortfalls;
•Nearly two-thirds of consumers also incurred additional fees such as overdraft or non-sufficient funds;
•The annual percentage rate of interest was 304 percent; and
•Most borrowers remained in debt for at least 149 days.
Commenting on these findings, Director Cordray said, “We want to make sure that consumers can get the credit they need without jeopardizing or undermining their finances. Debt traps should not be part of their financial futures.”
Earlier this month and in an effort to heighten Capitol Hill awareness of payday lending’s debt trap, Congressman Conyers convened a briefing that included representatives from the NAACP, Native  Community Finance, Consumer Federation of America, Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Center for Responsible Lending.
Also this month, CRL and National People’s Action delivered to regulators more than 150,000 petitions urging the officials to crack down on high-cost payday lending. Also part of the petition drive were CREDO and Green America and Americans for Financial Reform.

(NNPA)—Although the dictionary calls it archaic, the “management of a household” is one of the definitions listed for the word “economy.” Another definition is “a saving or attempt to reduce expenditures.” Yet another is “a system of interacting elements, especially when seen as being harmonious.” And still another definition for economy has to do with “the production and consumption of goods and services of a community regarded as a whole.” As I look at those descriptions of an economy, only the last one partially applies to Black Americans collectively, and that’s the “consumption” part.
Every five years, the U.S. Census does a survey to determine how many businesses there are in this country, who owns them, how many persons they employ, and what their annual revenues are. The figures for 2007, while lauded for the increase in the number of Black-owned businesses, revealed decreasing revenues for Black businesses, relatively few employees, a vast majority of them in the service industry.

The 2007 census revealed total receipts for Black owned businesses to be less than $136 billion that, when juxtaposed against an aggregate “Black buying power” during that period of approximately $850 billion, illuminated a lack of business growth and a glut of consumer spending. The average gross receipts for Black firms as a whole fell 3 percent, from $74,000 per firm in 2002 to $72,000 per firm in 2007. Furthermore, a whopping 87 percent of Black businesses had annual receipts of less than $50,000 in that time period. Other statistics disclosed a low savings rate among African-Americans and a grossly disparate median income and net worth when compared to other ethnic groups.
The University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth estimates that the nation’s “Black buying power” is rising from $1.038 trillion in 2012 to a projected $1.307 trillion in 2017. The 2012 U.S. Census data will likely reveal a bump in business receipts, but the total will probably be less than $175 billion. Median income, net worth, and savings disparities will likely stay the same and the mythical Black economy will trudge along like a brand new, 12-cylinder, state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line automobile running on only six of those 12 cylinders. We will definitely be looking good, but we sure won’t be doing good (pardon my grammar).
That’s essentially how we are as consumers. We look real good, but when it comes to how we are doing, that’s another story. Maybe one of the reasons for that can be found in some of our consumption statistics. A few years back, the Selig Center reported that Blacks spend more on telephone services, children’s apparel, electricity and natural gas, and guess what, footwear. Today, I’m sure hair (someone else’s) is in the top five.
How do we measure up in business? In his classic book, Black Bourgeoisie, E. Franklin Frazier stated, “[Black] business enterprises come within the definition of small businesses; in fact, they fall within the lowest category of small businesses. When the first study was made of Negro business in 1898, it was found that the average capital investment for the 1,906 businesses giving information amounted to only $4,600.00. When the latest study of Negro business was made in 1944, it was revealed that the average volume of business of the 3,866 Negro businesses in 12 cities was only $3,260.00.”
Was Frazier correct in his assessment of what he deemed the mythical nature of Black business? Was he correct when he suggested the Black middle class was also a myth? He made a lot of folks angry when he wrote, “Negro business … has no significance in the American economy, [and] has become a social myth embodying the aspirations of this [Black Bourgeoisie] class.” As we look at today’s statistics we must reconsider Franklin’s position, because the numbers reflect the same conditions he discussed in 1957.
Frazier was decrying our definition of “middle class” as one that embodies high incomes and material possessions, e.g., the mink coats, diamonds, and Cadillacs to which he referred, instead of business ownership and economic growth. While we consider the trappings of the good life as “wealth,” sold to us by everyone else, of course, we are mired in a dysfunctional—and maybe even mythical—Black economy.

Much of our economic pain in the 21st century is the direct result of our failure to develop a real Black economy, our failure to take care of our collective “household,” our failure to save more of our money, our failure to support our own businesses, and our failure to produce goods and services commensurate with our percentage of population and income. Additionally, we have failed to work together for the uplift of the masses, sharing our resources with one another and helping one another as we make our way individually.
The so-called “middle-class” Blacks have distanced themselves, not necessarily physically but mentally, and as Frazier wrote, they have been obsessed “with the struggle for status.” And many of the less fortunate among our people spend too much time being jealous and envious of our brothers and sisters who have achieved at higher levels. The result is an oxymoronic “Black economy.”
(Jim Clingman, founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce, is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati and can be reached through his Web site, blackonomics.com.)