3/5/25 Beyond Stagnation: Funding Prehistoric Revivals and Preserving Dance Traditions

The Moneywise Radio Show and Podcast Wednesday, March 5th BE MONEYWISE. Moneywise Wealth Management I "The Moneywise Guys" podcast call: 661-847-1000 text in anytime: 661-396-1000 website: www. MoneywiseGuys.com facebook: Moneywise_Wealth_Management instagram: MoneywiseWealthManagement Guest: Erica Ueberroth, Executive Artistic Director at the Civic Dance Center Civic_Dance_Center Facebook Bakersfield_City_Ballet Instagram

• 0:00Speaker 00

  From the padded radio room off Stockdale Highway, here is Money Wise. Call or text in at 661-396-1000.

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  Securities offered through SEF Securities, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through SEF Investment Advisors, Inc. SEF Securities, Inc. and Money Wise Wealth Management are independently owned and operated.

• 0:39Speaker 00

  Now, let's start the Money Wise Show.

• 0:43Speaker 03

  Welcome to the Money Wise Show. We are live from the Gero Ellis padded radio room off Stockdale Highway on ESPN Bakersfield, 1230 a.m., 101.1 FN, and always streaming at MoneyWiseGuys.com. You can text into the show 24 hours a day at 661-396-1000. Today, we're your hosts. I'm Sharad Waite and...

• 1:03Speaker 02

  Emily Waite.

• 1:04Speaker 03

  Hey, Em.

• 1:05Speaker 02

  Hello.

• 1:06Speaker 03

  It's good having you here.

• 1:07Speaker 02

  Thank you. Good to be here.

• 1:09Speaker 03

  We've got a few listener questions and comments. So, let's get right to it.

• 1:14Speaker 02

  Okay, let's get right to it. First one, "Enjoy the bankruptcy and tariff talks on the last episode, but serious question, what happens to business debts if someone files for personal bankruptcy? Appreciate the education you all share."

• 1:29Speaker 03

  Great question. If you missed yesterday's show with attorney Leonard Welch, he is Bakersfield's premier bankruptcy attorney. We had a really good conversation with him. In fact, we're going to have him on again April 1st. And so, we're really excited to have him because there was so much we didn't cover. And no, first of all, we're not attorneys. Don't, you know, don't, don't claim to be, and this is not legal advice. And even, even Leonard Welch himself had, answering those questions, some of these questions yesterday, he said every time he gets these bankruptcy questions, almost always you have to say, "Well, it depends." And that is the case with this question, certainly.

• 2:10Speaker 03

  If you're talking about what happens to business debts when someone files for a personal bankruptcy, well, it depends. It depends the type of business and the type of debt, and also whatever type of bankruptcy you're filing, because there's several different types. And so, depending on those... Three major factors, then that's what would determine the answer. We can give some general idea, though. Okay. And, starting with the type of business structure. So, if you were functioning your business under a sole proprietorship, which is very common, it is one of the disadvantages of a sole proprietorship over a corporation, for example,

• 2:54Speaker 03

  is because the business is not a separate legal entity. It's sole proprietor. You own that and you are the business, meaning the business debts are personal debts. So filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy can eliminate most business debts, just like they can personal debts. But if you have a sole proprietorship, you essentially... It's the same, same. It's the same, yeah. The debt is debt. It's all your debt. Now, partnerships are slightly different. If the partnership itself owns money, creditors can go after both of the partners, and both the business and the individual partners. If one partner files for personal bankruptcy, their personal liability might be wiped out,

• 3:37Speaker 03

  but the other partners may still even be responsible. Oh, wow. Depending on what kind of debt it is that the other partner had. Now, LLCs or corporations, these are separate legal entities. So filing for personal bankruptcy does not erase business debts unless the individual has a personal guarantee on them. Yeah. So this is also very common, because it's very difficult for a small business, even if you are a corporation, for that corporation to get credit. Yeah, right. Usually, you have to have a personal backing by the owner of the corporation. Now, the types of debts that matter, as we mentioned, personal guarantee debts. If you signed a personal guarantee for a business loan, or a lease, or a line of credit,

• 4:20Speaker 03

  you remain personally liable, even if the business entity is separate. Same thing with business cards. If you have a business credit card, if they were personally guaranteed, which is very, very common, again, it can be very difficult for a business to get actual credit without a personal guarantee, you're still responsible for it unless it's been discharged through some bankruptcy.

• 4:43Speaker 03

  This came up yesterday also in terms of taxes and payroll taxes. These generally cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. It's very difficult. Those as well as student loans.

• 4:54Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 4:54Speaker 03

  Very difficult to get those discharged. Secure business loans, if the business has pledged assets as collateral, the lender can take those assets.

• 5:02Speaker 02

  Mm hmm.

• 5:03Speaker 03

  So, you know, again, the types of bankruptcy, chapter seven is liquidation. That's like what I think Leonard Welch called the funeral bankruptcy.

• 5:16Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 5:16Speaker 03

  It's, you know, that debt would be essentially forgiven. Whereas chapter 13 is more of like where there's a repayment plan. So if you have a steady income, you can reorganize your debts, including your personal liability on business debts into a three to five year repayment. Chapter 11 is business reorganization, typically used by businesses rather than individuals. And it can be an option if you have significant business debt and you want to restructure them. What we didn't talk about yesterday, which we're going to have Leonard Welch back on is subchapter five, which is a fairly new way for small businesses to file for bankruptcy.

• 5:56Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 5:57Speaker 03

  And it has some huge advantages. That has been fairly, a fairly recent, a fairly recent option.

• 6:07Speaker 02

  So maybe this person can do another question when he comes back on with some more specifics.

• 6:13Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 6:13Speaker 02

  It might help.

• 6:14Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah, tune in in April when we have Leonard Welch on. We'll have him on again to answer those questions. If you missed yesterday's show, we covered quite a bit. So, you know, go wherever you listen to your podcasts, you can, you can find that show. Got another question here.

• 6:26Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 6:26Speaker 03

  You got that, Em?

• 6:27Speaker 02

  What is stagflation? I've heard the word being used all over and wondered if that's the word we will be getting used to this year.

• 6:37Speaker 03

  Yeah, it is being thrown around in headlines a lot, stagflation. This came up with Dr. Gerhart, the economist from Cal State last week, and he mentioned stagflation. We've mentioned it a few times as well. Essentially what stag- Inflation is is when you have low or negative economic growth or low.

• 6:59Speaker 02

  Stagnant growth.

• 7:00Speaker 03

  Yeah, stagnant growth, but high inflation, so rising prices and then high unemployment.

• 7:06Speaker 02

  That's like a portmanteau of stagnation.

• 7:09Speaker 03

  A port.

• 7:09Speaker 02

  Inflation, yeah.

• 7:11Speaker 03

  There you go. Well, normally, when you have inflation, you have economic growth because when the economy, when inflation goes up, it's sometimes because of high demand and it just drives the prices up. But, you know, it's, it helps offset the impact of inflation when the economy is also growing. So, we, we experienced that, you know, up until recently because we had high inflation, but we had high growth as well.

• 7:44Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 7:44Speaker 03

  So, sometimes, though, that high inflation can bring a not economic growth because it's maybe coming from other places. Think tariffs. And this is, this is why it's in the news a lot now is because there are estimates, some economists are estimating that the tariffs could impact GDP by one, by one to half, a half a percent to one, full one percent of GDP, meaning it's gonna, that's a.

• 8:15Speaker 02

  Big, big impact.

• 8:16Speaker 03

  Yeah, big, big, huge impact. And that money doesn't go, when, when you pay the tariff, the dues from tariffs, it's passed on to the consumer. The consumer just pays, you know, like, for example, now, the, the President Trump just passed the tariffs starting yesterday, 25% across the board on imports from Canada and Mexico. The, the exact same product that you were buying, you're paying 25% more for it overnight, essentially, and it's the same product. Where's that money going? It just, it goes, it just goes away in the form, essentially like a tax. It doesn't go into the economy.

• 8:57Speaker 02

  Right.

• 8:57Speaker 03

  And that's, that's a big problem. And I think that's why it's been on a lot of people's minds, is this whole stagflation potentiality.

• 9:06Speaker 02

  Yeah, because usually, like, there is, like, traditional policy tools that address either inflation itself.

• 9:15Speaker 02

  Or slow growth.

• 9:17Speaker 03

  Right, right.

• 9:18Speaker 02

  Right, they have tools that can address, so like with inflation, they often raise interest rates. But with slow growth, they lower interest rates. But if you're, they're happening both at the same time. It's a, it's a challenging

• 9:31Speaker 03

  That's right.

• 9:32Speaker 02

  problem to have, yeah.

• 9:33Speaker 03

  This was a, a big problem in Japan. They experienced a, a 20 plus year period of stagflation. Where it was no economic growth and increasing prices. It's just not, not a good scenario at all. And so, you know, that leads us to some of today's headlines.

• 9:55Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 9:55Speaker 03

  Which it's been a, you know, this has just been

• 9:58Speaker 02

  Is it about?

• 9:58Speaker 03

  A whipsaw.

• 10:00Speaker 02

  Wait, is the headlines about the new woolly mice that have been created?

• 10:03Speaker 03

  Oh, my gosh. Did you see the picture?

• 10:06Speaker 02

  Yes, they're so adorable.

• 10:07Speaker 03

  I know, I agree.

• 10:09Speaker 02

  That, oh, man.

• 10:10Speaker 03

  Oh, my gosh, that, by the way, now we're, we'll sidetrack a little bit. But though this, this idea of bringing back the woolly mammoth is ridiculous.

• 10:17Speaker 02

  Look it up, Stephen, look up the mice, though, they're so cute.

• 10:20Speaker 03

  Cause what they're doing is they're just modifying some of the genes to make the hair long and like blondish. But it does

• 10:29Speaker 02

  And wavy and the texture, texture length and density.

• 10:33Speaker 03

  Right, which, okay, wow, that's, that's cool. But like to do that, the group that wants to do this and to like actually create a woolly mammoth by modifying the genes of a, of a, of an elephant?

• 10:46Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 10:47Speaker 03

  Is like, is, they're saying within five years. And what I'm hearing true actual scientists say is, is that's, that's just not realistic.

• 10:57Speaker 02

  Right.

• 10:57Speaker 03

  And even if it is, think like, what are you going to do with woolly mammoths? Where are they going to go? Like, you're going to put it in a zoo? You, you can't, you're going to, you're going to have like

• 11:07Speaker 02

  Maybe this is, this is, uh, uh, and one of those things where if somebody really wants a woolly mammoth, that's great. You know, yeah, whatever, get a woolly mammoth back. But in the meantime, there'll be this, these scientific advancements that come, that, that maybe everyone can have thick, wavy curly hair like the woolly mammoth.

• 11:24Speaker 03

  Yeah, I guess so, if you want to do that.

• 11:26Speaker 02

  You never know.

• 11:27Speaker 03

  Uh, it seems like

• 11:27Speaker 00

  These are adorable.

• 11:28Speaker 02

  Aren't they cute?

• 11:30Speaker 03

  Seems like a waste of time and money, in my opinion. Like, if you're going to do, save an animal, save animals that are like almost extinct now, or just barely extinct.

• 11:38Speaker 02

  Sure, sure, sure.

• 11:38Speaker 03

  Like the, um, what's the, um, dodo bird? I think it's cool. Bring back the dodo bird.

• 11:45Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 11:45Speaker 03

  It was just around not too long ago. It seems like it could be a lot easier than a woolly mammoth. Like, you don't want these big woolly mammals walking around.

• 11:52Speaker 02

  Well, some people might, maybe that's in your opinion, but other people might would like that. So anyway, moving on.

• 11:58Speaker 03

  Probably right. I was not going to talk about the woolly mammoth mice. I was going to talk about the whip saw that we're seeing in the tariffs. So this just came out today. The, well, of course, I mentioned how yesterday the markets reacted very negatively to the across the board 25% tariffs. Well, after President Trump had a phone conversation with executives from the big three automakers, that's General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. They, he has decided to put a 30 day reprieve on the tariffs for cars, for these auto manufacturers. As long as they still are, are, are part of the North American trade agreement that Trump implemented during his first term.

• 12:41Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 12:41Speaker 03

  Then they're exempt from this at least for the next 30 days.

• 12:45Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 12:46Speaker 03

  So this is good news, you know, at least for auto manufacturers. We're seeing the markets, not just auto stocks, but all stock market, major indices going up dramatically between one and one and a half percent today. And, you know.

• 13:02Speaker 02

  So that was to help the economics impact of these tariffs?

• 13:06Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 13:07Speaker 02

  Is that why he did that?

• 13:08Speaker 03

  I think, well, President Trump, I think reversed course after this conversation with these Ford executives. But it's not like he didn't know before it was going to impact them. It had already come out.

• 13:17Speaker 02

  Right.

• 13:17Speaker 03

  That the tariffs were going to increase the top, the cost of a typical new car by about $10,000 on average. This is according to industry groups saying this. And so.

• 13:26Speaker 02

  It was, would it be considering a backpedal?

• 13:29Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's a huge backpedal. And it's also very complex because the way that the supply chains work for auto manufacturers now, with it, the, the different components of the car are manufactured in different countries and they're moved across border several different times before they finish the product.

• 13:45Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 13:46Speaker 03

  So it just, it makes it very complicated. And, you know, they, it just, it just never, has never made sense.

• 13:54Speaker 02

  Right.

• 13:54Speaker 03

  It doesn't make any sense. Economists are scratching their heads and nobody can really understand what. What this is about, other than what you can, you can read what President Trump is saying, which is, he wants to secure the borders.

• 14:08Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 14:08Speaker 03

  And he wants to stop the fentanyl trade, which is great. You know, well, I think that that's a good, worthy cause. But the, the other part of this, of his motives that President Trump is stating is to bring manufacturing to the United States. Well, if you kept this tariff on cars, an attempt to bring auto manufacturers to the United States, it takes two or three years to build a car plant in the United States.

• 14:32Speaker 02

  Mm hmm.

• 14:33Speaker 03

  So you're going to go two or three years where you're paying all of this extra cost, and you know, an extra 25% for your car? And, you know, all the impact that that has on inflation, all the different supply chain and, and industries that are connected to the auto, auto manufacturing sector.

• 14:49Speaker 02

  Right.

• 14:49Speaker 03

  And then you're expecting us to be able to build all of the car here in the United States cheaper than how it, how it's being done now?

• 14:56Speaker 02

  It's, it sounds like it's a much more complicated issue than perceived to be.

• 15:01Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's very, it's very complicated, but it, it, you know, it definitely seems not complicated, the fact that tariffs are going, are inflationary.

• 15:12Speaker 02

  Right, certainly, certainly. But how, but complicated in how to bring manufacturing to the United States, you know, with one.

• 15:19Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 15:20Speaker 02

  One fell swoop.

• 15:21Speaker 03

  That's definitely.

• 15:22Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:22Speaker 03

  Much more complicated. That this escalating trade war has brought the S and P 500 to its lowest level in four months yesterday, erasing all of its post-election gains.

• 15:33Speaker 02

  Oopsie.

• 15:34Speaker 03

  Now, today, it's, it's bounced back a little bit, so now we're just, you know, slightly above the, the four-month low. This is also on the heels of data that we received today, showing that private sector companies added almost half of the number of jobs in February than economists were expecting. The expected amount, 140,000 jobs created in February is 77,000 jobs. It's a significant drop, and it's, it's much lower than where it was back in January. So coming back to stagflation again, we have.

• 16:04Speaker 02

  Okay, there you go.

• 16:06Speaker 03

  The unemployment, or the employment number's not looking good.

• 16:09Speaker 02

  Right.

• 16:09Speaker 03

  You have GDP going down and that's, you know, and of course, we have the now added costs or the inflation from these tariffs. That is the definition of those are the three characteristics of stagnation. So

• 16:24Speaker 02

  They're happening.

• 16:25Speaker 03

  It's happening. Yeah, we can only hope that that the course is reversed quickly on some of this other stuff or avocados. Think of all, think of all these things that, you know, that we buy.

• 16:37Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 16:38Speaker 03

  It's just not.

• 16:38Speaker 02

  Which are my favorite. I love avocados.

• 16:40Speaker 03

  Yeah, I know you do. All right, we're gonna take our first break of the day. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be right back.

• 16:45Speaker 00

  If you're a business owner who provides a retirement plan for your employees, contact Money Wise Wealth Management to see if you're maximizing your options and minimizing your liabilities. Money Wise 401k plans are customized to you and your company's needs. 661-847-1000. That's 661-847-1000.

• 17:08Speaker 02

  There's not enough. There we go.

• 17:13Speaker 03

  Thanks for tuning in. We're Money Wise.

• 17:15Speaker 02

  Sherrod's favorite.

• 17:16Speaker 03

  Uh, Kung Fu Kenny.

• 17:18Speaker 02

  Yes, okay, we got a message here, Sherrod. I gotta read.

• 17:21Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 17:21Speaker 02

  I wonder how much money it would take to remake the woolly mammoth. Now that scares me. Sounds like the beginning of a supervillain movie or some mad scientist. Well, I looked it up.

• 17:30Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 17:30Speaker 02

  According to AI.

• 17:32Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 17:32Speaker 02

  And first of all, it, there's a few things that this money would cover according to my, my question AI. It would cover advanced genetic sequencing, CRISPR, gene editing, surrogate elephant reproductive technology, facilities for raising and studying the animal, long-term conservation efforts. The total cost to actually produce a living mammoth-like creature would likely exceed 250 to 300 million dollars.

• 17:55Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 17:56Speaker 02

  Full de-extinction might cost significantly more, potentially reaching 500 million. It's worth noting, what's being attempted is not a perfect woolly mammoth, but rather creating an elephant with mammoth-like cold-adapted features.

• 18:09Speaker 03

  Right.

• 18:10Speaker 02

  A complete recreation would likely cost more, which leads me to another portmanteau.

• 18:16Speaker 02

  Mammothent.

• 18:18Speaker 03

  What? Oh, man. Mammothent? That's what's so dumb about this. It's like it's even if they make it look like a woolly mammoth, it's not a woolly mammoth.

• 18:28Speaker 02

  Okay, okay.

• 18:29Speaker 03

  So I did, I did some research too. According to Colossal Biosciences, which is the company that's actively working on this project, they suggested take about 15 million per mammoth to recreate it. Now, that's after they spent hundreds of millions going into the gene editing research.

• 18:45Speaker 02

  It says they have raised about 225 million up to date as of 2023.

• 18:50Speaker 03

  What a total waste of money. Here's, here's some, here's some reasons why this is a terrible idea. The environment's nothing like it was back during the Ice Age. So even if they, if they bring it back, there's they like that, that place no longer exists where mammoths used to go. Now that Arctic tundra is, is grasslands, you know, like where they were. Secondly, you have, they've essentially become an invasive species, right? Just like trampling all of the like native environment.

• 19:22Speaker 02

  Did you also look this up on chat?

• 19:23Speaker 03

  Yes, I did. Of course I did. And, and then think about, think about the ethical aspect to this. There would be no natural mother, right? So you're bringing back an animal that has no natural mother, no social group, no cultural knowledge at all. It's just going to be this miserable, suffering creature.

• 19:42Speaker 02

  But maybe we could bring, just bring into existence woolly mice.

• 19:46Speaker 03

  Yeah, I mean, that's cool. I'm okay with that.

• 19:49Speaker 02

  Anyway, okay, moving on.

• 19:51Speaker 03

  Yeah, let's move on. Want to talk about this scam that's happening and not, not just in Kern County, but all over California. And this is with PG&E customers. This has been on the news. Hopefully this isn't new to you. But Bakersfield has seen over 500 customers just in the near, within the last year, being taken advantage of by fraudsters. Essentially what the scam is they're calling. Impersonating employee from PG&E.

• 20:21Speaker 02

  Ugh.

• 20:22Speaker 03

  Getting your financial information over the phone, asking for you to pay, pay up on your bill, or they will shut your power off.

• 20:30Speaker 02

  Like right then?

• 20:31Speaker 03

  Yes. That's what they're saying. Don't hang up.

• 20:34Speaker 02

  Right. If you don't pay, we're shutting your power off.

• 20:37Speaker 03

  Right. So, and there's been 547 fraud reports just in Bakersfield in 2024. PG&E says it's much broader than that. There were 26,000 reports of scammers impersonating the company statewide. Customers lost $646,000 in fraudulent payments. And in January, just of this year, the company received more than 1,700 reports of scams.

• 21:03Speaker 02

  It's so sad.

• 21:04Speaker 03

  So sad, because what, what these, what these scammers are doing is they're getting you in this heightened emotional state.

• 21:10Speaker 02

  Sure.

• 21:11Speaker 03

  And then they're making you either pay through Zelle, or PayPal, or a prepaid debit card, and giving them the information over the phone so that they can, you know, pay, get the, get the bill satisfied and not cut your power off.

• 21:25Speaker 02

  And it seems so real, you know?

• 21:28Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 21:28Speaker 02

  They seem so official.

• 21:30Speaker 03

  Yeah, they know exactly what to do because they can, they can even send emails and texts that look like it's official communication from PG&E. And then they know how to speak. They'll even have noise in the background.

• 21:43Speaker 02

  It's like they're in a call center or something.

• 21:45Speaker 03

  Yeah. So, I mean, they know all of the tricks. So PG&E has come out and they have said they will never.

• 21:53Speaker 02

  They're warning customers about it.

• 21:54Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 21:55Speaker 02

  These are the things to look for.

• 21:56Speaker 03

  And, and the main thing to know is that PG&E will never ask for payment over the phone.

• 22:02Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 22:02Speaker 03

  That's not, that's not going to happen. The company never asks for payments over the phone. So if you get somebody that is pressuring you, and they're calling you from, and they're saying they're from PG&E, and they're demanding payment, hang up. It's over.

• 22:14Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 22:14Speaker 03

  It's over. That's, that's, that's the, the shirt sign that it is a scam. PG&E has said that they will work with you sometimes for months. Before they would shut your power off. Like it's the last thing they want to do.

• 22:28Speaker 02

  They want to give them an opportunity to pay. P D N says, we want to give you an opportunity to pay. We're not going to shut it off over the phone. If you're not paying us right then, we'll never ask for that.

• 22:36Speaker 03

  And, and they're never going to ask to be paid over a prepaid debit card or through crypto or through PayPal or Zelle. That's just not going to happen.

• 22:45Speaker 02

  They say if, if, if you're ever in doubt, hang up.

• 22:48Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 22:48Speaker 02

  And call us.

• 22:49Speaker 03

  Yes, yes. And this is, this isn't, this is happening all over the place. It's the same scam is happening with credit. You name the credit card, you name the bank. Even it's what I'm getting here recently is calls and texts saying that I owe a toll from a highway toll. And it's like, you know, you're back thinking, well, I was in LA. Or where was I driving? Well, maybe I do owe it and it's so easy to go and pay.

• 23:19Speaker 02

  It's going to go to collections.

• 23:20Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's going to go to collections. We need you to call it. You need you to, you know, you know, pay this and it's just a scam, folks. So hopefully you.

• 23:27Speaker 02

  Don't do it.

• 23:28Speaker 03

  Don't do it. And, um, you know, this is just so maddening. I'm looking forward to the day when there's maybe some sort of technology or something that can get rid of this kind of fraud.

• 23:39Speaker 02

  Me too.

• 23:39Speaker 03

  It's just super heartbreaking.

• 23:40Speaker 02

  Cause then they just feel so, so dumb. They feel so taken advantage of and they feel like they're dumb dums.

• 23:48Speaker 03

  And they're not, they're not. They're, they're victims of, of a scam. And a lot of people that are being targeted are elderly and where, or where English is a second language.

• 23:58Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 23:59Speaker 03

  So it's even preying more on the natural sort of blind spots that we have as, as humans.

• 24:07Speaker 02

  Right.

• 24:08Speaker 03

  I hope this, even if this just helps one person avoid this fraud, that would be fantastic.

• 24:12Speaker 02

  It would be.

• 24:13Speaker 03

  We're going to take a quick break right now. We'll be right back after this commercial.

• 24:16Speaker 00

  Have you been putting off your finances? Seize the day. Call the Money Wise office at 661-847-1000 or email [email protected] for more information on how our financial advisors can help your financial situation.

• 24:37Speaker 03

  Welcome to the Money Wise Show. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Sharad Waite, your host here with Emily Waite. We're happy to be joined by our guest right now. That's, this is Erica Ubarash. She's Executive Artistic Director at Civic Dance Center. Erica, welcome to the show.

• 24:53Speaker 04

  Thank you for having me.

• 24:54Speaker 03

  So this is Nutcracker.

• 24:56Speaker 04

  Yes, Sugar Plum Fairy.

• 24:57Speaker 03

  Sugar, yeah, which I was reading your bio, you actually played the Sugar Plum Fairy, is that correct?

• 25:02Speaker 04

  I did, yes.

• 25:03Speaker 03

  This is, this is, this is the premiere, in my opinion, maybe I'm a little biased. My sister's danced at Civic Dance Center and my sister teaches there. And so I'm a little biased, but it seems like this is the premiered dance company in town.

• 25:24Speaker 04

  We are, Civic Dance Center is one of the largest studios in town and I think one of the oldest. We've been in business for over 50 years.

• 25:32Speaker 03

  Wow, that's significant. A lot of people.

• 25:34Speaker 02

  Oh, I feel old.

• 25:35Speaker 03

  I know.

• 25:36Speaker 02

  Because I was a little dancer there too, back in the day.

• 25:39Speaker 03

  Yeah, you danced in Nutcracker for several years and my mother-in-law was, did a lot of the sewing for the...

• 25:47Speaker 02

  On the break, I'll have to show you a photo.

• 25:49Speaker 04

  Yes, please.

• 25:49Speaker 03

  I think some of the dresses are still being used, right?

• 25:51Speaker 02

  They are still being used.

• 25:52Speaker 04

  Yeah, we, well, this, this December in 2025 will be our 48th year of the Nutcracker. And yes, we still have costumes in rotation from 1993.

• 26:03Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 26:04Speaker 04

  And, and older, possibly from the late 80s.

• 26:07Speaker 03

  Yes, definitely from the late 80s, because that's where... Because we went to the Nutcracker a few years ago.

• 26:12Speaker 02

  Yes, they were, it was 30 years old at the time. There's a photo, yeah, but yeah, that's great.

• 26:18Speaker 03

  It is, it's, that's become such a great local tradition and it's, I don't think people here realize how unique it is to have the ballet with a full orchestra.

• 26:28Speaker 04

  Oh, absolutely not. I mean, that, that's an incredible gift for our community and I really wish more people would take advantage of that holiday tradition because I think we're one of, I mean, less than 15 companies in the world still perform with a live orchestra.

• 26:44Speaker 02

  Wow, I did not know that statistic and you you came up performing in that and now you're on the other side of it.

• 26:50Speaker 04

  Yeah, the story I hear the most is I came to see the Nutcracker. Either with their school, we do young people's concerts with the public schools. And they say, I came to, I watched it and I wanted to do that. So. And that was me. Like, I was a four or five year old in the audience, just completely in awe and moved and. Thankfully, my mom, I said, that's what I want to do. And she took me and signed me right up.

• 27:17Speaker 03

  So, you know, which brings me to, how did you, how did you get from that? Four year old girl, you know, watching the performance to now owning and running the, the, the dance center.

• 27:29Speaker 02

  Yeah, what's the path?

• 27:32Speaker 04

  Perseverance, tenacity, and lots of hours in the rehearsal room. I, to be honest, it was not the original dream to be an owner of a studio. Even to be a teacher, I grew up thinking, I'm gonna be a professional dancer. And went to professional summer intensives, the, the big schools like American Ballet Theater. New York City Ballet, they host intensives throughout the summer. And I was lucky enough to attend a handful of those in my teen years. And unfortunately, never got to the chance to stay for a year round program, which is kind of how they. Kind of farm out the next generation of dancers.

• 28:19Speaker 04

  So, you know, I find myself at seventeen or eighteen thinking like, it's not really gonna happen. And I had mentors that said you should teach. You know, and they helped me cultivate that teaching dynamic and. I went on to some continuing education and learned the American Ballet Theater curriculum. Somewhere during COVID, I just realized I wanted more.

• 28:49Speaker 04

  Cause I love dances, my passion and thankfully I'm able to make a career out of it.

• 28:57Speaker 04

  And I could tell previous owners Cindy and Kevin Trueblood.

• 29:02Speaker 04

  You know, just in that age of potentially thinking about retirement and the world of dance was changing quite a bit.

• 29:08Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 29:09Speaker 04

  And so I, I made an offer and they luckily didn't refuse.

• 29:14Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 29:15Speaker 04

  And here we are.

• 29:17Speaker 03

  Well.

• 29:18Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 29:18Speaker 03

  You, you spent some time teaching dance as well at Liberty High.

• 29:22Speaker 04

  I did, yes.

• 29:23Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 29:24Speaker 04

  Yeah, when Ruth Saul Dubaher, she created a dance program there and I was one of those first teachers and she was a great mentor in helping me learn the, the type of teacher I wanted to be.

• 29:40Speaker 04

  Sadly, in some of the public schools, they cut funding for the arts and it's not always available.

• 29:45Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 29:46Speaker 04

  Um, but that's why having a, a studio is, is great because it's open to, to anyone who can come and take class and whatnot, but it's kind of cool if it is available in the school system because that can really spark the interest and then they can take it further.

• 30:02Speaker 03

  We have a lot of great dancers, uh, or, or legacy here in town.

• 30:08Speaker 04

  We do.

• 30:08Speaker 03

  Is it Peck, uh, that, that was?

• 30:11Speaker 04

  Yes, Tyler Peck.

• 30:12Speaker 03

  Tyler Peck, that was the, um, the, the, the lead dancer at the Met, right?

• 30:18Speaker 04

  She's, well Tyler Peck's with New York City Ballet.

• 30:20Speaker 03

  New York City Ballet, yeah.

• 30:21Speaker 04

  Yeah. Um, and I think kind of back on like my events of how I got here, just, um, you, there's not something local.

• 30:33Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 30:34Speaker 04

  That can rival some of these larger, larger cities, which is where, you know, Bakersfield City Ballet come in, like we're trying to with this pre-professional company, create a dynamic and an atmosphere and something available for the community that we could keep some of our talent in town.

• 30:51Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 30:51Speaker 03

  Right.

• 30:51Speaker 02

  Tell us a little bit more about that. What's the difference between a, a pre-professional ballet versus like what Civic does?

• 30:58Speaker 04

  Yeah, Civic is a, is a privately owned business, um, and Bakersfield City Ballet is a local nonprofit, a pre-professional ballet company, meaning we're a trainee program. Think like- Like the minor leagues for baseball.

• 31:13Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 31:13Speaker 04

  But for dance. So what are we offer annual performances for the community and we we do community outreach efforts with the youth throughout Bakersfield to just kind of inspire and try and cultivate that next generation of of artists. But we are dependent on the generosity of the public, attending our shows.

• 31:38Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 31:39Speaker 04

  You know, sharing all of our stuff on social media to get more eyes on what we are doing. Corporate sponsors.

• 31:46Speaker 02

  Grant funding.

• 31:47Speaker 04

  Brand funding.

• 31:48Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 31:49Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 31:49Speaker 02

  And grants as well?

• 31:50Speaker 04

  Grants as well.

• 31:51Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 31:51Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 31:51Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 31:52Speaker 03

  So the the pre-professional part of it, is there any desire or or want to go professional?

• 31:59Speaker 04

  Absolutely. One of my dancers that was with us for the last couple of years, he graduated last year. He's now dancing with Ballet Austin II in Austin, Texas, and hopefully signing a contract with them within the next year or so.

• 32:14Speaker 02

  Wow.

• 32:14Speaker 04

  So he went on to a slightly larger pre-professional company to then get into a professional company. And that is a goal of mine. I think Bakersfield with our growth, we could hopefully eventually sustain a professional company and be able to pay dancers and have more performances and.

• 32:34Speaker 02

  Yeah, there's so much opportunity there.

• 32:36Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 32:36Speaker 02

  For the creative community in all realms, ballet being such a such a wonderful one. But yeah, especially if you get these talented dancers can go off and do amazing things. It brings exposure to Bakersfield. It brings exposure to this kind of company and potentially they can come back and.

• 32:52Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 32:53Speaker 02

  And it can be a self fulfilling, positive system.

• 32:57Speaker 04

  Yes, that's the hope.

• 32:58Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's fantastic.

• 33:00Speaker 03

  So how has it been to make that transition from being, you know, say, a teacher or dancer to now a business owner and an artist?

• 33:12Speaker 02

  Different skill set, yeah.

• 33:13Speaker 04

  Yeah, a little bit. I ran my own business as a as a certified massage therapist for 20 years. And so transitioning what I knew about that into dance, you know, for me, I think integrity is a really important thing. And I just keep that in mind with keep it about the art, have.

• 33:40Speaker 04

  That like high standard of focus on the art and that hopefully appeals to the masses. That brings in more dancers, generating more income, and then that's how you keep the lights on.

• 33:53Speaker 03

  Wow, this is the, this is the, the, the blessing and the curse of having an art, an artistic driven business. And you think of just like, we had, um, uh, Joe Von Dangerfield on our show, he's a local, he doesn't call himself a rap hip hop artist, but he's a very talented musician. But he, it, it, we talked about the struggle for musicians to, you know, want to make a career out of it. And oftentimes they sort of have to compromise or feel like they have to compromise their art to be able to make money. And so, and I, and we see this all the time with theater companies and where it's like,

• 34:37Speaker 03

  we're just going to focus on having the best product, but that doesn't always pay the bills.

• 34:43Speaker 02

  Right. There's a balance there for sure that has to happen.

• 34:46Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 34:47Speaker 03

  Yeah. So how do you, how do you balance that?

• 34:49Speaker 04

  Um, I don't know. I feel like you try to balance, but at some point you can't like, I'm very fortunate to have, um, a really great creative team, um, a lot of volunteers, a really supportive husband that way. When I say, bottom line, this is what we're doing. Whether we, you know, make the budget work or not. This is what's going to happen. Um, I'll be honest, uh, as this is only my third year in running the company, um, sorry, uh, running Civic Dance Center, that, um, June, June is rough. That's a really slow season for us. We're coming up to the end of the year. We do our last production.

• 35:31Speaker 04

  And there's been times where I don't get paid. I pay my teachers, my choreographers first. If there's anything to pay myself, great, but I'll tell you the last couple of years there hasn't been. So, you know, but that's where I'm not willing to compromise. Because I know that at the end of the day, it was my large, larger vision or something I really wanted to do that I was the driving force behind and they all supported that. So the least I can do is, you know, make that sacrifice.

• 36:03Speaker 03

  Good on you. Again, we're joined by Erica Ubaras. She's the executive artistic director at Civic Dance Center and the owner there. Erica, you mentioned dance has changed and evolved over the last 10, 20 years. Explain more. How has it changed?

• 36:18Speaker 04

  Oh gosh, with social media, just so much. Specifically when we shut down, they took away the ability to go into a theater and perform for the masses, kind of a thing. So Bakersfield City Ballet, we got pretty creative. We, we did what was called curbside ballet. So we had like a 15 minute piece that was already staged, ready to go. We purchased a Marley, a trans, a transportable, a portable Marley floor. And we'd go and dance. People could order a performance.

• 36:59Speaker 04

  The whole block would get together. We'd, I mean, even the first couple of times, we didn't have a Marley floor. We danced in tennis shoes. Because I mean, arts are vital. It is when we don't have that, it's, it would be a terrible place.

• 37:14Speaker 03

  Yeah, 100%. Even if you, I mean, we're, we're big advocates of, of the downtown, downtown core. And we're investing into the downtown core ourselves and, and it's same thing. We, we need arts. We need things for people to do and see, even if you never attend that, it'll benefit your city. Cause that's what doctors, for example, that are looking to practice in town, they've got kids. They're looking to see, is there a dance company? Is what's going on? Aspect is the the Nutcracker, I don't think people really appreciate how difficult, how much work and just how how much how miraculous it is to have such an ongoing tradition of that magnitude year after year for 50 years.

• 37:59Speaker 03

  It's like something is happening right there. Now, you danced there when you were a child and now you're there mentoring young women, young, young, young men right at that age. It's like, that is just

• 38:12Speaker 02

  It's really special.

• 38:13Speaker 03

  So special.

• 38:14Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 38:14Speaker 03

  Yeah. Um, the, my sister Amanda, who's, who's a dancer and a choreographer, we were just talking the other morning about, she brought up the fact that when she was dancing, Baryshnikov, Mikhail Baryshnikov was like the big deal.

• 38:29Speaker 04

  Oh, yeah.

• 38:30Speaker 03

  And at the time, he could do, was it 11 pirouettes?

• 38:34Speaker 04

  Oh, yeah.

• 38:34Speaker 03

  12 pirouettes. And it was like, oh, my gosh, no, that's amazing. And she said, now it's, you've got nine year olds

• 38:41Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 38:42Speaker 03

  That literally can do that.

• 38:44Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 38:44Speaker 03

  And it's probably in large part to the internet, right?

• 38:48Speaker 04

  Yeah. And that's another way that the arts have really changed is that it's, you know, more, better, higher leg, bigger jump, more turns. And, and yeah, a little bit because the internet has made it more accessible and that's great. But that just like constant demand for more. It's all, I wonder, you know, like, are we ever going to max out?

• 39:10Speaker 03

  Right.

• 39:12Speaker 04

  But, but yeah, I think it's exciting and it's important to have that, that influence and that inspiration, whether it be from social media or hopefully attending a live performance, because there's nothing like feeling the energy from the dancers that are on stage and the dancers that are performing. We feel the audience's energy.

• 39:31Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 39:32Speaker 04

  And

• 39:33Speaker 02

  It's really magical.

• 39:34Speaker 04

  Live orchestra, that's just even, it's, it's amazing.

• 39:38Speaker 03

  So before we let you go, can you share with our audience anything that's coming up? Or anything that's exciting?

• 39:45Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 39:45Speaker 03

  Civic dance?

• 39:46Speaker 04

  Yes. So actually, Bakersfield City Ballet has a performance April 5th at the Fox Theater.

• 39:52Speaker 02

  Oh, wonderful.

• 39:52Speaker 04

  7:30 PM. We're doing a section from a classical ballet, La Bia D'Air. And we're doing the, the part of the Kingdom of the Shades. And I have a new work being premiered that evening by Emily Ramirez at Bakersfield Local. Um, it's a contemporary piece, uh, inspired by the ocean. That's called Into the Deep. Um, and then Civic Dance Center, we have our end of year production in June at the Harvey Auditorium.

• 40:20Speaker 03

  Oh, cool.

• 40:20Speaker 02

  Oh, very cool.

• 40:21Speaker 03

  Very nice. Um, so again, for our listeners that are interested or would like to find out more, the website civicdancecenter.com. Is that a good place to go?

• 40:30Speaker 04

  Yes. And you can also visit bakersfieldcityballet.org.

• 40:33Speaker 03

  Oh, wonderful. So again, it's at the Fox Theater. Uh, this is the Bakersfield Ballet will be there on April 5th. That's a great venue. And again, in June, you have the end of the year, uh, production at the Harvey.

• 40:49Speaker 02

  Yes. We could put these in the show notes for everybody too.

• 40:51Speaker 03

  Yeah. Yeah. These will be in the show notes and, um, Erica, thank you so much for this.

• 40:57Speaker 04

  Thank you for having me.

• 40:58Speaker 03

  Thanks for contributing this to our community and, and bringing and keeping the arts here. And we wish you all the best of luck. Keep it, keep it up. We're Money Wise. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

• 41:08Speaker 00

  Money Wise Wealth Management is the only locally owned independent firm that uses a comprehensive wealth tax and estate approach. Working closely with a highly trusted CPA and attorney. For information on how Money Wise can help you invest and plan for your future. Call 661-847-1000. That's 661-847-1000.

• 41:36Speaker 03

  Thanks for tuning into the Money Wise Show. I'm Sharad Waite here with Emily Waite.

• 41:41Speaker 02

  That's Joe Vaughn, right?

• 41:42Speaker 03

  It's Joe Vaughn.

• 41:43Speaker 02

  Is that Joe Vaughn? Yeah. Who we were just talking about.

• 41:44Speaker 03

  Joe Dangerfield.

• 41:47Speaker 03

  Uh, got a couple of messages.

• 41:48Speaker 02

  Yes, let's read them. The first one was, here come the dragons and the return of the dinosaurs.

• 41:54Speaker 03

  Yeah, we're talking about the woolly mice.

• 41:56Speaker 02

  Woolly mammoth, the woolly mice. Yeah. You never know. They figure that out maybe.

• 42:00Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 42:01Speaker 02

  It'll be like Jurassic Park in real life.

• 42:02Speaker 03

  Yeah, that went well.

• 42:06Speaker 02

  We got another message here that says, I believe I texted you the other day when I let your show know about the people going around our neighborhood saying that they can take over our power and gas, but wanted to see our most recent bill and take a look at our gas meter. Felt very pushy and like a scam. Have you heard of this?

• 42:23Speaker 03

  Yeah, we talked about this on the show and it was, you know, it's hard to know because sometimes they're just pushy solar sales. That's, that's, that was my guess. But, I mean, either way, you just, I hate, I hate the pushy sales.

• 42:37Speaker 02

  It puts people in such an uncomfortable position.

• 42:39Speaker 03

  Yeah, don't, I mean, it's, if you, if somebody's saying that you gotta buy now or never, just don't, you know, trust me, it's not worth it. It's almost always too good to be true. And even if you miss out on it, you're gonna save yourself the multiple chances of it being a scam or a fraud.

• 42:59Speaker 02

  So many opportunities to be scammed these days. It's kinda scary.

• 43:04Speaker 03

  Yeah, the other thing I wanted to mention is yesterday, Frank Lee and myself were on this, on this show and we were talking about unclaimed property. You know, there's a state, state controllers office in California. If a company has your money and they can't get a hold of you, they don't get to just keep the money. They have to send it to the state of California. And then you can go to their website and put in your information. You can see if you have any unclaimed property. It's about a million dollars a day that they give out that of unclaimed property. But we talked about, what about, how much did they not give out? So I did a little research. At least in 2022, this California State Controllers Office reported holding over 70 million, 70 million dollars of unclaimed properties.

• 43:47Speaker 02

  Where are they holding it exactly?

• 43:51Speaker 03

  Oh, actually, unclaimed, 70 million different unclaimed properties that totaled almost 12 billion dollars.

• 43:58Speaker 02

  Oh, I see.

• 43:59Speaker 03

  Billion.

• 43:59Speaker 02

  Properties.

• 44:00Speaker 03

  Yeah, because they call them properties, which is just like, it's usually just like a cash refund. Like, I looked up myself, which it had been a year or two since I'd done that. And I had like, four bucks from some insurance company that was owed to me.

• 44:12Speaker 02

  How does one look up if they have unclaimed?

• 44:15Speaker 03

  You go to the state comptroller's office, California State Comptroller's Office.

• 44:19Speaker 02

  See if you got any money coming to you?

• 44:21Speaker 03

  Yeah, it's real simple. You just put in your name and you can put in what city you're from or put in your address and it will just, it'll pull up. So we ended up doing a bunch of searches, found a bunch of people, including a few here in the office.

• 44:32Speaker 02

  Did anybody have any good cash coming back to them?

• 44:34Speaker 03

  Uh, I mean, it was all under a hundred bucks.

• 44:37Speaker 02

  Under a hundred bucks, okay.

• 44:38Speaker 03

  Yeah, but I mean, still.

• 44:39Speaker 02

  But your four dollars, I mean, that could buy you like two eggs.

• 44:43Speaker 03

  You're right. Well, thank you to all of our listeners for tuning in. If you'd like to listen to this show or any other of our past programs, go subscribe to MoneyWiseGuys.com. You can find our podcast there, commercial free, on all podcast platforms, like iTunes, Apple, and Spotify. Also, as we leave, remember these three things: be smart, be safe, and always be money wise.

• 45:09Speaker 02

  Securities offered through SCF Securities, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through SCF Investment Advisors, Inc. SCF Securities, Inc. and MoneyWise Wealth Management are independently owned and operated.