Recession's most powerless victims

More homeless children and a poverty rate that will likely hit 25 percent in the not-so-distant future -- that is what is emerging from America's so-called economic recovery, according to a 60 Minutes report last Sunday.

A new generation of Americans will be raised in sketchy motel rooms, parked cars and worse places. These are the children of the previously stable, hard-working middle class -- not kids born into decaying urban neighborhoods or to transient families on perpetual welfare. These are the kids who would have gone to college or trade school and become taxpayers themselves one day, helping to pay down the national debt that we've created for them. They have parents who were accountants and teachers, writers and secretaries -- responsible folks who played by the rules, only to find out the game was fixed (and still is).

Parents have been unable to find comparable work for a variety of reasons. Age discrimination, companies stubbornly sitting on piles of cash, politicians using joblessness as venom ... we know what's happening. The point is, kids are now paying the price for a lack of political will to fix the damn problem. We will all be feeling the effects of this institutionalized neglect for a long time. The backbone of this country -- the middle class -- has all but been broken, and few people have given more than lip service to a problem, that if addressed, might also mend or prevent other social and financial problems.

What did we think was going to happen to the families who depended on the 8 million-plus jobs that were lost since 2008? Whatever modest employment gains have been made recently don't even keep pace with the number of Americans who are entering the job market for the first time. Underemployment figures are worsening. Men and women are accepting lesser jobs that don't pay enough for them to live on, let alone enough to raise a family. What will be the mindset of this generation as it grows into adulthood in the back of a Dodge Caravan?

The new norm for millions of Americans is an unfolding tragedy that will transform the United States in ways that go beyond the despair of mass homelessness or the expanding federal debt. The spirit of millions of people -- young and old -- is being shattered with each foreclosure sign that goes up and each rejection letter that is received by a desperate jobseeker. Tax collections are shrinking as layoffs continue. Yes, people are still getting laid off, although you'd never know it based on the lack of news coverage.

The unemployed and underemployed are slowly being forgotten by a society increasingly distracted by celebrity news and other trivial matters reported by mainstream media fighting for its own financial survival and making decisions based on ratings rather than sound news judgment. A free press is only beneficial to a democratic society if it lives up to its responsibilities and the citizenship shows more of an interest in being informed on important topics.

At a time when things are getting bleaker for young and old -- as kids who were once riding their bikes along pristine sidewalks are disappearing from the suburban landscape and Baby Boomers are abandoning retirement dreams -- we could use more informative reports like the one on 60 Minutes.

Big fish facing rapid extinction

I am beginning to wonder if there is anything human beings haven't messed up in the last three or four decades. Whether it's financial deficits, the faltering environment or the destruction of our own "American dream," it appears that massive consumption, over-population and a sense of unrestrained entitlement are directly responsible for an array of societal and environmental problems.

Today I learned of this bit of sobering news: Scientists have concluded that more than 54 percent of the decline of large predator fish has taken place in the last 40 years. Forty-years! That's not even a blink of the eye in the timeline of mankind.

So what is it about human beings in the last half century that make them so destructive? Are there just too many of us now? Or have we lost our sense of stewardship? Maybe it's a combination of many things, including the never-ending quest for expanding profits. We can blame it on technology that tends to proclaim more is better, or bad parenting, or some sort of cosmic shift. But there is no denying that there is something wrong with a generation of humans that has left so many scars on the planet so rapidly that in one or two more generations we may have to visit an aquarium to see anything bigger than a guppy or a zoo to see a large cat. And if those were the only problems related to mass extinctions, it would be sad but survivable for us. However, extinctions have a domino effect that impacts virtually everyone and everything. Of course, as we get dumber (yes, our rankings in education in the U.S. have also plummeted in the last few decades), it seems less likely that we're going to fix what ails us.

The real predators in this world aren't the sharks. They only take what they need. It's human beings who will cut off a shark's fin (for soup) and callously discard the rest of the fish. It's human beings who destroy oxygen-producing rain forests and kill the Chesapeake Bay with factory farm-produced toxins so that some corporation can produce chickens at a rate that keeps stock prices high. It's developers who knock down trees and fill in wetlands so that it's easier and more cost efficient to build shopping centers and residential subdivisions, even as current retail stores and homes remain vacant. And we're all guilty of wanting everything we consume for the lowest possible price, which leads to all sorts of abuses, including child labor and defective products. So in a way, we create the predators who are cleaning out the oceans and depleting other natural resources.

Click here to read more about the assault on our oceans and why you eventually will be eating sardines instead of cod or salmon.

Loose lips sink Boehner's credibility

When George H.W. Bush used the "Read my lips" comment to proclaim that he wouldn't raise taxes during his presidency, well, you know how that turned out. His reversing course cost him a second term.

So why would the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, use the same phrase this week to claim he is serious about cutting spending? Essentially, it's a tarnished political cliche and should be shelved for the next few decades. Plus, does anyone believe a politician who excludes the military budget and gives massive tax breaks to billionaires is serious about the deficit or the federal budget? Most people understand the need to cut government spending, but I can't believe Americans want to do it in the way Republicans are suggesting.

I am beginning to think that Boehner just isn't very bright, something some Republicans seem to pride themselves on in recent years. The other day Boehner bragged about his desire to cut government jobs, after first lying about how many federal positions have been created in the last two years by the evil Obama administration. He used the heavy-handed phrase "so be it" to explain how he didn't really care whether federal employees lost their jobs. You would think a guy representing a party that claims to have all the answers to the unemployment problem would be more careful with his words. Putting tens of thousands out of work -- regardless of whether that work is done in the private or public sector -- is not very intelligent or responsible, let alone caring. We don't need for a more competitive job market by displacing thousands of workers. Those federal employees pay taxes just like private-sector employees. I am not saying that some federal jobs aren't a waste of taxpayer dollars or shouldn't be trimmed, but the majority of government positions help to protect our food supply, teach our kids and patrol our streets. C'mon Mr. Boehner, don't kill what little credibility you might have by making Palin-like comments that show no insight or willingness to address the facts. Don't attack PBS (another GOP target) like it's the main reason for our deficit. Don't ask me to read your lips if you aren't serious about cutting from your pet projects.

Here's a fact: The rich are getting richer, the middle class is getting poorer, and the money and jobs are not trickling down as wealthy conservatives continually claim will happen but never does. The dwindling middle class needs to wake up and read the facts.

As I watched a documentary about Ronald Reagan recently, I wondered how Reagan could have turned his back on people who needed a hand when in fact his own family, as he was growing up, received government assistance to weather the economic storm of his childhood. Without that government intervention, Reagan might not have gone very far in life. Heck, he and his family might have found it hard to simply survive or put food on the table. Many people need a helping hand at some point in their lives, something Republicans fail to comprehend. They see it as a weakness. It was Reagan, the first Democrat-turned-Republican to make it to the White House, who made it OK to turn away from those down on their luck. But even Reagan wasn't quite as ruthless or dishonest as the current crop of conservatives. He had some redeeming qualities, unlike today's hardcore conservatives who seemingly want the middle class to go away so that the fat cats can get fatter.

Then there is the military and the funding for our policing the world.

Look, I am all for a strong defense. But I am not for overkill, especially in lean times. We already have enough explosives and war machinery to destroy the entire world multiple times. How many aircraft carriers do we need to stop underwear bombers? But hold onto your wallets because the Republicans, not the Democrats, are aiming to take your Social Security away or delay benefits until you're too old or dead to collect much of anything. Yup, Social Security is just one of those old, nasty government programs that new Republicans hate. In their eyes, the money would be better spent on occupying some foreign land.

So no, I won't support Boehner's selfish beliefs and inarticulate cliches. If Republicans and Tea Party radicals want to make a case for turning off grandma's heating (a miniscule savings at best), they better first find a way to milk their own sacred cows -- the extremely wealthy, the oil companies, the military. That's where the real recovery could occur without breaking the back of Americans who have nothing left to give. That's not class warfare, that's just a sense of fairness -- something we are losing in recent years as we allow one political party to fuel the flames of hatred towards the unemployed, the elderly and anyone else who isn't in a position of power.

And please, let's not even get into Boehner's so-called humble background. As I mentioned, Reagan also forgot where he came from as he stuck a dagger into union workers -- this from a man who was the head of a union early in his career. You would think these types of self-made human beings would help lift others up, but they don't. It's not in their nature. They believe that hard work was solely responsible for their success and that unsuccessful people just aren't vigilant enough.

Any talk of addressing the deficit must begin with where the money really lies, not with nickel and diming the middle class to death and robbing folks of their benefits that they worked for a lifetime to obtain. Not investing in clean energy and education, while continuing to cater to big oil and rich bankers, is short-sighted at best. If Republicans want to act as patriotic as they claim to be, they can start by demanding more from their entitled friends who rarely give back to society in any meaningful manner but seemingly get every tax break known to humankind.

Since becoming the leader of the House of Representatives, Boehner has displayed almost no leadership ability or big-picture thinking. His tone is often hyper-political and confrontational, and could lead to the government shutting down in March if the budget debate worsens. Boehner shoots from the hip and only has the back of the most privileged people in society -- the people and corporations who financially support his campaigns. He is, like so many Republicans these days, a political machine, void of any sense of fair play or fresh ideas. He is the perfect modern-day Republican -- a visionless version of Ronald Reagan with lots of tears and no heart. His shining city on a hill is gated and consists of CEOs driving around in large SUVs while their employees watch their health-care premiums go up.

Republicans are exposing their true identity and lack of intellect lately. You don't have to read between the lines to see it. You just need to read their lips.

Oh, say can we replace this song?

"The Star Spangled-Banner," musically speaking, is not a good song.

Why do I say this?

Did you hear Christina Aguilera's version before Super Bowl XLV? She is the latest talented singer to maul the tune. Not only did she forget the words at one point, but she also mangled the melody in an attempt to win style points and/or recover from the lyrical error.

Our national anthem has clunky lyrics that don't exactly roll off the tongue. Frank Sinatra wouldn't be able to smooth out the words. To make matters worse, the melody isn't, well, much of a melody. When compared with "America the Beautiful," the SSB is melodically challenged. If it weren't our anthem, and symbolic of something larger than just a song, it would be difficult to sit through without covering your ears.

Sports stadiums aren't great venues for artists to showcase their vocal abilities. Recent halftime shows at Super Bowls have been peppered with production problems that make the performers sound off. The anthem in particular is almost always on the brink of disaster. The only exception I can recall is Robert Merrill at Yankee Stadium. For whatever reason, the opera singer nailed it almost every time. Or at least nailed it as much as it could be nailed, and did so before countless games and other events in New York.

Every time someone botches the anthem, there is a group of people who thinks they did it intentionally out of some kind of ego-driven need to be disrespectful. In most cases, I don't think that is true. I do think, however, that the song is a lemon that needs to be replaced.

Back in the saddle with a new twist

It should appear obvious by now that Calvacca Blog has been somewhat revived in recent weeks. What is not so obvious is that I am back in the saddle again in terms of having a "regular job" -- a place where I go each day to work, learn and share.

The the details of the job that I started this week aren't as important as the fact that I have ventured outside of the mainstream media for the first time in my three-decade career. I am working in the communications department at a quasi-governmental organization in Northern Virginia. Many of my journalism skills are expected to transfer well as I get deeper into the job, which is not to say that there isn't a whole lot of new stuff that I need to learn in the meantime. I am grateful for the opportunity and welcome the challenge.

While I have sometimes questioned the usefulness of former journalists starting blogs -- it's almost a cliche, particularly since the start of the recession/layoffs in 2008 -- I can report that blogging (and all that goes with it) appears to have been a worthwhile endeavor that helped me land my current position, which required online and writing skills, in addition to a journalistic and design background. In fact, this was the second regular job that I was offered in recent weeks with similar responsibilities and technical requirements. Both hiring managers came from the newspaper world and seemed to have an appreciation for the time that I spent at USA Today and other papers. Neither employer made age an issue, which was a nice change from what appears to be the new norm at many other companies.

While the job market remains pretty tough, particularly for former newspaper professionals with ink in their blood, there does seem to be some glimmer of hope for folks who are able and willing to make a few sacrifices and to learn some new tricks. But be prepared. One's prior credentials or pay grade don't always carry the same weight in a new field. In some ways, you have to embrace starting over. Depending on your financial obligations, that isn't always easy to do.

The vibe of a newsroom is a fairly unique thing. It grows on you. It's hard to duplicate in other businesses. Back in the day, if you were patient and did your job well, you could eventually make a decent living on an editor's salary at a large publication. Those days are just about gone, as journalists with big paychecks are being shown the door at an alarming rate. But there does appear to be life outside of the newsroom, and with any luck, it will be an acceptable life -- one that doesn't involve the constant threat of layoffs that has poisoned the newspaper business and cut tens of thousands of careers short.

Note: I expect my blogging to be light for the next few months. However, I do want to continue to have a presence here, so please feel free to check out the blog from time to time.

Health care a distant second to jobs

Republicans like to refer to the U.S. House of Representatives as the “people’s house.” Ever since the election in November, they have been on a mission to conduct what they say is the No. 1 priority of the people – repealing health insurance reform.

There is only one problem with that. It’s not true.

According to every legitimate poll, including the recent CBS News/New York Times survey, unemployment (still over 9 percent and much higher in some parts of the country) continues to be the top concern of the majority of Americans. Joblessness is causing cities, towns and local governments to decay. Buildings are still boarded up. Foreclosure signs continue to litter many neighborhoods. Yet, the new House of Representatives, led by John Boehner of Ohio, charged ahead last week and voted to repeal the recent health-care reform package, labeled “Obamacare” by radio talk show hosts, as well as Boehner himself, who should be above this sort of parochial nonsense.

It is appalling that the House has chosen to make this symbolic repeal vote its first major piece of business, particularly when millions of folks are still out of work. And to be fair, I have also stated in this blog that President Obama was wrong in highlighting health care while unemployment was seemingly on the back burner during his first several months in office. Only now has Obama, with his upcoming State of the Union address, seemed to have shifted his full attention to jobs.

Little has changed in American politics in recent months. Republicans won big in November for one reason and one reason only: They were not the party in power while unemployment hovered around 10 percent. Somehow they took what American voters told them (fix unemployment) and twisted it into some sort of mandate to attack everything Obama, including needed financial and health-care reforms.

Trying to tie unemployment rates to health care legislation, as Republicans are now doing, is not only contrary to every objective economic study, but it is also proven to be incorrect by recent history.

We didn’t have insurance reforms when we got into this economic mess three years ago. We didn’t even have the law for the first part of the Obama presidency. So repealing the act and expecting jobs to miraculously reappear is not only wrong, it’s ignoring the need for feasible economic solutions.

Where are the studies showing that repealing health reform will reduce unemployment? Probably in the same file that suggests the wealthy create jobs with the extra money they get back from Uncle Sam. Instead of making these broad and often outdated assumptions, Republicans (and GOP-slanted media outlets) should produce facts based on objective research. Show me sound data that says for every $50,000 a billionaire saves on taxes, that money is used to hire someone. Until then, I have a hard time accepting these trickle-down theories, particularly when the income gap between the wealthiest Americans and the middle class continues to widen.

Going back to a system that allows insurance companies to gouge customers, or worse, lets people needlessly die, is not going to put America back to work in jobs that pay livable wages. Losing one’s house because they got sick isn’t going to improve the real estate market. The mood of the country isn’t going to get better by funding unjust wars or continuing to ship jobs overseas.

Congress needs to do better, act with more dignity and intelligence, while attending to the real-life issues that continue to confront our nation. Getting sucked into a Palin/Limbaugh universe is a recipe for further economic and personal disaster. Jobs not only propel the economy, but they also fuel individual self esteem and tighten the moral fabric of this country.

It is time for politicians to turn off Fox News and pay attention to what real journalists and pollsters are reporting. The margin of error for most scientific polls is 5 percentage points or fewer. With health care well behind jobs in most polls in the last two years, there should be no excuses to not make the economy the No. 1 priority in Washington, state houses and the media. The people have spoken. Will Mr. Boehner and others listen, or will they continue to misinterpret the message from the 2010 elections?

An old soul on a final journey

My daughter, Stephanie Kennedy, lost a young brother last night.

Tristan Evarts (left in photo) died from brain injuries sustained in a car accident last week. He was 16. He had sports and musical interests, as well as a bright future and loving family.

Tristan’s organs were harvested at Fairfax (Va.) Hospital so that others can live. “He would have wanted that,” said Stephanie.

I didn’t know Tristan well. To me, he was the little kid who I saw briefly whenever I went to my daughter’s house in Fulton, Md., where she grew up. As a visiting divorced dad, I would often see Tristan hanging around the kitchen or shooting hoops in the driveway – barely reaching the rim -- while my daughter was gathering her things in order to spend the day with me. That seemingly was a lifetime ago.

Tristan was one of two boys who my former wife, Cindy, had in her second marriage to Bob Evarts. The other boy is Sam (right), who is now 13 and also suffering from the loss of a brother. They moved from Maryland to West Virginia several years ago, pursuing what we all want – a life more in harmony with our personal values and evolving desires.

My daughter now lives close to me, in Northern Virginia, and works at a university where she advises students not much older than Tristan. Her husband, Kevin Kennedy, was a friend to Tristan. They shared an interest in sports and both possessed the same easy-going, likable personalities. Kevin is a high school football coach and educator.

Of course, I am heartbroken over this tragedy. As a father with at least a decade of worries about my own daughter’s safety behind the wheel of a car, I am well aware of the fact that the No. 1 killer of young people is related to motor vehicle accidents. I suspect I will never stop worrying about my daughter. Steph is my only child and is an optimistic young woman with much to offer the world. I don’t want to see her broken by this loss. I am sure Tristan would feel the same and urge his older sister to pursue her dreams.

If I could wave my magic wand, I would create a world where parents never have to bury their children. I would increase the driving age to 18, improve roads to make them safer and enhance driver education for anyone seeking a license.

For the second time in the last few months, someone close to me has had to face the prospect of losing a brother. My wife’s sibling is battling leukemia. To watch my daughter and wife go through this process certainly puts my own challenges in perspective and makes my heart ache for both of them.

Tristan's mom once told me that we walk varying distances through life with various people who come and go in what appears to be a random manner. But, she added, there may not be anything random about this. Perhaps we travel together only as far as we need to in order to learn certain lessons. It’s not so much the length of time that we spend together as it is the profound timing of when we meet and when we separate, and what we gain in between. As I think about the losses and lessons in my 53 years, I believe there might be some truth to this opinion. I also believe that we might all meet up again.

I suspended this blog several months ago for reasons that I have mentioned in previous posts. However, the death of a young man – a brother to my daughter and a friend of many – should not go without mention here in this quasi journal of the last year and a half. I regret not having known Tristan better, as he was a very special person in Stephanie’s world.

During a father-daughter chat at the hospital last week, Stephanie and I came to the realization that Tristan is an old soul possibly nearing the end of a long spiritual journey. She just prayed that the journey wasn’t over quite yet. Stephanie referred to her brother as “good” several times during the week that Tristan was in a coma. That simple word, used over and over by a sister with unlimited love for her brother, speaks volumes about a West Virginia boy named Tristan. I hope this old soul is now and forever at peace.

Contributions may be made to a scholarship fund being established at Hedgesville High School in Tristan's name. Checks should be payable to Hedgesville High School with "Tristan Evarts Scholarship" clearly written in the memo. Please mail contributions to:

Attn: Don Dellinger
Hedgesville High School
109 Ridge Road North
Hedgesville, WV 25427

Click here to read more about Tristan or to sign his guest book.

Reactions from students and teachers at Tristan's high school.

Click for obituary.

SPECIAL POST

My daughter's 16-year-old brother, Tristan Evarts, was in a serious car accident earlier this week. He is in critical condition at Fairfax (Va.) Hospital. He remains in a coma. Click here to read about his story or to write a message to the family. The family is requesting prayers.

Update: There is sad news on the CaringBridge web site tonight (Sunday, Jan. 2). I will post more information here on Monday, Jan. 3.

Last post will be this Friday

I will have written over 320 posts by this Friday. This blog has been part personal diary, part commentary on the news, with the occasional meandering into other subject matter of interest to me. Current events like the BP oil spill and the recession provided a lot of incentive to write, but I am not so certain that becoming consumed by these things is the best way to spend my free time.

Perspectives and circumstances change. If I would have written this blog five years ago, it would have reflected a slightly different mindset. If I were to return to this blog in a few years, I am certain I would question why I said this or that. I freely admit to the probability of being wrong about many things. One of the benefits of maturing is in gaining the security to admit to not knowing everything.

I thought of writing a post about a potential job that I worked very hard to secure recently but realized I had given my word to the employer to not reveal what worsening financial conditions existed at their company that at the 11th-hour prevented them from hiring me. The interview process spanned three months, a lot of probing and some travel. It was an important position at a firm that I felt comfortable with. And I believe they were comfortable with me. After 20 months of not being on a regular payroll, not getting this job was a disappointment and would have made a interesting post in terms of illustrating just how fragile the economy is and why we could be facing higher unemployment rates in the near future. My personal feelings about not landing this particular opportunity run fairly deep, almost as deeply as losing my 13-year position at USA TODAY at the start of the recession. However, life goes on. Eventually, when the right fit comes along, this latest disappointment will fade.

This blog will be suspended on Friday. That's the one-year anniversary of my first blog post. I don't want to use the word "end" because I have seen other bloggers do that, only to return to posting a few months later. I may also start another blog, so check back here occasionally for updates. I plan on keeping this blog up, so in a way, it doesn't end. You can still leave thoughtful comments, which are always appreciated. I hope this blog has at least been mildly entertaining and informative. I think it's important in a free society to have an open exchange of ideas. Whether it be through blogs, newspapers or other venues, presenting facts, opinions and analysis about important topics is what will keep this country strong.