The downfall of the suburbs

"A new study from the Brookings Institution tells us that the largest and fastest-growing population of poor people in the U.S. is in the suburbs."

How's that for a wake-up call. Read more in Bob Herbert's column: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/23/opinion/23herbert.html

Yes, Herbert's opinion piece is very similar to my Jan. 19 post. But note that his column was written on Jan. 22. Guess a lot of people are beginning to reach the same conclusions based on the same realities we see all around us. We are in serious trouble but the politicians still don't get it. Some people just want to continue to stick their heads in the sand or blame unemployed people for not trying hard enough to find work. Some folks live in such a state of being above it all that until some beggar with a master's degree is camped out on their circular driveway, they refuse to open their eyes to any inconvenient truths.

Not only does the economy have to be the top priority, but age discrimination must be addressed so that people over 50 have a fair shot at getting back to work. I've said this countless times in this blog. Laws are being blatantly broken by employers who now openly advertise jobs for younger people. Discrimination violations aren't even being masked anymore. It reminds me of the way real estate ads were once written to distinguish between white and black communities (right and wrong side of the tracks), yet fooled no one. But with job ads, employers aren't even attempting to speak in code words anymore. They are coming right out and saying they don't want anyone over 30 or 40 to apply or are using phrases like "youthful energy" to describe qualities they want in job candidates. Amazing that there prejudice is so transparent. So much institutional knowledge, experience and know-how being flushed from society.

On this same topic, here's something else we better start thinking about. There is going to be a profound need for affordable or free senior-citizen housing soon. With so many 50 and 60somethings out of work or in jeopardy of losing their jobs, a normal, self-reliant retirement is becoming an impossible dream for millions. If the politicians aren't going to fix the economy, then at least start building the shelters now so that we can warehouse older people who have lost everything in this recession. It won't be pretty, but it's better than living on the streets.

Homelessness is already increasing in the suburbs. Just yesterday, someone I know got a memo at work stating that a homeless person's belongings were found in the stairwell landing near an elevator that goes to a parking lot. Other office building managers have noticed similar signs of folks finding shelter in parking garages or anywhere else that protects them from the bitter cold. These reports are coming from middle-class and high-end areas in Reston and Tysons Corner, Va. This was unheard of just a few short years ago in these types of communities.

What's astonishing is that acts of desperation are happening in an upscale, well-educated area like Northern Virginia where the unemployment rate isn't as bad as it is in the rest of the country. However, I think what is leading to this new homeless class is that Northern Virginia is also very expensive. If you do lose your job here, and can't find one elsewhere, you very well could end up on the streets, as I am becoming intimately aware of as my own predicament worsens.