A life of cars . . .

What was your favorite car? Not the one you admired the most, but one you owned and drove day in and day out? (I admired a bunch of muscle cars, starting with the Shelby Cobra, and almost bought a used Plymouth Superbird . . . don’t laugh . . . it was a driver and would have cost less than $5,000 . . . Oh stupid me for not buying it.)

I haven’t owned a ton of cars over the years, and none of them fancy or especially unique, but I remember them all. I got my license when I was 16 years old and I’m now 60, so that’s a lot of years. A list? (Most of them anyway . . .) Dodge Dart, Ford Galaxie 500, Saab, Toyota Corolla, Subaru hatchback, Subaru Outback, a couple of used Volvos, Ford Explorer, Ford Expedition, Jeep Grand Cherokee . . . That includes my cars and, when married, our cars.

Nothing fancy, but that Dodge Dart was great (bulletproof mechanics), and worked well at Stratton Mountain when seeing how close we could come to the snow banks in the parking lots at night as we spun and drifted, the rear end just skimming the snow. Bought it from Dad for I think $700. Its life ended when hit from behind by a city bus as I was turning into a restaurant for a farewell lunch after a turn as a summer intern at an ad agency.

It was a sad end, too, for that Galaxie 500 when I was in college . . . smashed at an intersection by a Cadillac going maybe 50 miles per hour whose driver ran a red light and nailed the passenger side, spun me around a couple of times, hit the corner of a bank and came to a stop. Thankfully nobody was in the passenger seat, since the door was pushed halfway to the driver’s side. I got 200 stitches in my head and face, a concussion and a (temporarily) damaged neck out of the deal, and I think $7,500 in a settlement, which enabled me to buy the used Saab 99.

That Saab saw me through the rest of college after the Galaxie . . . snowstorms, skiing trips and ice racing in Cooperstown, N.Y. during winter festival there. . . and into my marriage. I’d put two driving lights on it and as we came out of the reception, one of my groomsmen (who shall remain mostly nameless) had gotten into the car and stretched a bra over them. Dad was not pleased. Kinda funny.

Lisa had a Simca, a front-wheel drive French car she nursed through college with quick mechanical fixes and baggies over the distributor cap when it rained.

The first new car Lisa and I bought together was the Subaru hatchback. Boy were Subarus a different breed back then . . . It was a simple two-door, front-wheel-drive, manual car, designated DL (which I think meant bottom of the line) . . . Followed by an Outback wagon whose life ended heading to the Jersey Shore on the New Jersey Turnpike in a weekend traffic multi-car crash. Younger Child was pissed she got hit in the head by a foam belly board that slid forward, but delighted in repeating Lisa’s language as she walked around the car surveying the damage after the crash.

My family seems to have been delighted by Subarus, with both kids, Lisa, Mom and Dad and my aunt and uncle owning them over the years.

The Ford Explorer took us out west for a Bixby family reunion . . . Sturgis, the Black Hills and Badlands, and Niagra Falls among the stops on the way. No GPS back then. Fortunately Lisa was good with a map.

Elder Child got the Explorer and I got an Expedition, which still lives here with a friend in New Hampshire.

I missed a bit of time driving after I lost my leg (Well, I keep saying that, but I didn’t really lose it, of course . . . someone knows where it went.) But after some driver’s ed on hand controls, Younger Child (she had to test drive) and I picked the 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee that sits in my driveway, hand controls and all.

She’s not a Cobra, and she’s not at all fancy, but she’s mine.

When did public personal attacks become OK?

What’s with the public personal attacks?

Attacks from one politician not criticizing an opponent on policy, but firing personal broadsides . . . words like stupid, dumb, ugly and so on . . . Pundits calling women “sluts” if they mention they enjoy sex and view birth control as an important issue. (The fabulously rich, successful and married four times Rush Limbaugh made the comment as one might expect. And joins a long list of men who see not a thing “equal” with women.)

In an interview in Rolling Stone Presidential GOP Donald Trump said of fellow Carly Fiorina "Look at that face!?"

"Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!" He tried to backtrack a bit the next day by saying he was talking about her “persona” not her looks.

It was the same lame backtrack he tried when after he said FOX News debate moderator Megan Kelly had blood “coming of her wherever” during the debate. He tried to convince us he meant “out of the eyes, then the nose and the ears because it’s a very common saying.” Common in whose world? There's no mistaking his words.

When did this become OK? When did we start thinking this was all right?

It’s not just politics, of course. The internet’s anonymity allows people to hurl insults without consequences.

How about the “shaming” of women who show breastfeeding photos? “Disgusting . . . cover up . . . yuck” and other comments are routine. (Their mothers must be so proud of the commentators.) Restaurants, too, have been caught in the crossfire as their policies on mothers breastfeeding their babies have been regularly challenged by mothers insulted by staff and onlookers’ heavy-handed objections. So groups of nursing mothers have held “nurse ins” in stores, malls and restaurants to protest the negative public reactions. Hey, kids, breastfeeding is pretty normal. Get over it.

Fat, skinny, tall, short, pretty, not pretty, muscular, not muscular enough, pregnancy weight gain, fast post-delivery weight loss, in shape, out of shape . . . it doesn’t matter, it’s all fair game now apparently.

So we endure it . . . these anonymous personal attacks weave in and out of our everyday lives . . . online, on the news and in public. Often we do more than endure it . . . we embrace it.

What failures we have become. We find the lowest bar possible and lower it further. Our leaders can’t lead and our would-be leaders hurl insults, right beside the kid sitting at home and typing insults that spread around the world in a flash. It’s bulling, really, and while we say that’s not OK, we continue to be amused by people like Trump or Limbaugh because they “tell it like it is.”

Nah, they’re lazy and petty, eliminating discussion and dialogue for the sake of a quick hit and an attempt to “score points” with an audience.

Too bad we’ve accepted that.

9/11

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Sitting at home and watching the news. The first tower had already been hit, and I watched as the second plane hit, shown on the screen just behind newsperson Jane Hanson. I went to open the store and was sitting outside in my car talking to my daughter who was watching the news. She told me the first tower collapsed . . . Within 2 hours, both towers had collapsed. Gone forever. That night as I watched the news, I cried a bit, wondering how many former workmates had died . . . How many people I passed every day when I worked there had died. People whose names I didn’t know, but people sharing a space and a time . . .

Bless all those lost that day . . . In New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania . . .

Food insecurity . . . It's time to make food for kids and families in need a national priority

(Part 3 of 3 . . . Can we as a nation eliminate food insecurity? Do we want to? Are battles over voting rights, Planned Parenthood or budget ceilings more important than seeing that kids and families have access to food? We need to think about that. We need to support efforts to get food to the people who need it by whatever means we can . . . food banks, soup kitchens, school meals, and others.)

So nearly 16 million kids are food insecure in the U.S.

Does that bother anyone in Washington? I don’t know, but it seems that with all the moves to cut food stamps (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP) and virtually none to improve it, add to school lunch programs (also under attack by state and federal budget cutters), or develop some other way to help kids and families who really need help we're moving in the wrong direction.

We need to figure out what is important to us as a country. It’s admittedly not an easy list to assemble and organize, in large part because Washington declines to tackle some of the big budget “entitlements,” like Social Security and Medicare. We need to evaluate our military spending, foreign aid, our tax structure and corporate tax rates and loopholes, as well as how to keep companies from shipping factories and jobs overseas. The list goes on and on, of course, with millions of items buried in thousand-page documents senators and representatives don’t understand (that why they have staff people).

Obviously, it’d be nice to fund everything anyone can think of, but we can’t. Where do we begin? 

Let’s assume Washington is filled with big-thinking politicians with a long view and who are willing to lay out plans for years instead of months. Though states are responsible for their school budgets, states get money from the federal government as well, and without a combination of state and federal funding and initiative, any moves to solve food insecurity and improve school meal programs will stall

I'd argue that feeding kids and families should be a national priority. But it's a big expense and one that will cause a lot of politicians to move past it. So how can we reshape the process a bit?

Let’s say we need a strong, quick response military, but do we need a continually bigger and bigger one? It’s time to offer buyouts for those who want to take early retirement and cut total spending 10 percent. Can we afford to grow the military budget by double-digits every year when the economy is barely growing at 2 percent? 

One of the problems is that we have delayed, stalled and put off long-term planning for short-term fixes, so costs tend to build. It's happening with military spending and it's happening with things like bridge, rail and highway upgrades and improvements. We need to take care of challenges on a regular basis, not wait until they pile up into a crisis.

We need to adjust Social Security, and change the numbers, not for those at or close to retirement, but those, say, under 40. Push retirement age for those people to 68 years old and allow larger tax write offs and bigger contributions into non-government retirement programs. Eliminate the salary cutoff for Social Security contributions and have higher-wage earners (and their employers) continue to contribute a percentage of their income into the system. 

We also need to mandate that corporations fully fund their current pension liabilities. Forbes says that our largest corporations are no better than 75 percent funded and that rising health care costs (which are not pre-funded) and longer lifespans could cost corporations trillions over the next several years . . . That's trillions that is unfunded. A company goes under with an unfunded pensions, those retirees and soon-to-be-retirees are left without the retirement funding they expected. And deserve. If that happens, the government will be on the hook for more benefits for those people that would not have been needed otherwise.

Congress insists the Postal Service pre-fund all it's pension liabilities 100 percent on advance every year (a somewhat unreasonable edict) , but has no requirements for large corporations.

Lower the corporate tax rate, but eliminate any and all tax advantages for companies moving operations overseas and using overseas operations as a cover to dodge paying taxes here. 

All right . . . I’m not expert, but why can’t we look at some of these things and decide we may have to change the way we operate our government to meet our ongoing social and economic issues.

As for some priorities, let’s start (since the subject of the series is food insecurity) with making sure every kid and family in this country has access to a stable food supply and meals. In many areas, schools offer breakfast and lunch to students. I think all schools should offer a free meal program to each and every student who wants it. Even with the average school meal costing less than $2 on average, that’s a huge expense.

Let's make sure we do everything possible to fill food banks and help soup kitchen stay stocked . . . Churches are often in the forefront of this, and we have to support whatever programs work, and start to link them within states and state-to-state, so we can see where the needs are and where the most help is needed. Link grocery stores, bakeries and other food producers and retailers so consumers know they are part of a national network and consumers can be connected locally and nationally.

We also need to make regulations easier for restaurants, supermarkets and others to donate left over and expiring food to food banks or soup kitchens. Now, many states say that can’t be done and expiring food needs to be thrown out. So if a restaurant, or hospital or caterer has three-quarters of a hotel pan of lasagna left over, they have to throw it out. We also need to improve our food supply system so “non-perfect” products go to food banks instead of being destroyed.

If we decide it’s unacceptable to have kids going hungry here, then we’ll change it. Kids need to be a priority, and feeding them is fundamental to that. It’s at least as fundamental as a strong military, repairing bridges, roads and rails, or debating public health and health care.

Strong families make a strong country, but without food, what chance do those millions of families and those millions of kids really have in today’s world?

It's Labor Day . . . Stop lollygagging. Get back to work

We take many things for granted. Our benefits at work, for instance. What? You don’t have any?

Well, it turns out you’re not alone. More than one-third of American workers get no paid sick leave. That’s more than 43 million people. Nearly 25 percent of all workers get no paid vacation or holidays. Only 39 percent of workers at the bottom of the scale receive paid vacation, while some 93 percent at the top of the scale receive paid vacation. Some think that disparity contributes to the wage gap over the long run. Clearly, it contributes to an inequity in how workers across the board are compensated.¹

The U.S. is the only wealthy nation that does not mandate a minimum for sick leave, vacation or parental leave.

Access to paid sick leave varies considerably by occupation. While 88 percent of private sector managers and financial workers have access to paid leave, more than double the rate among service workers (40 percent) and construction workers (38 percent).²

Later today, President Obama will propose legislation designed to remedy some of that by mandating 7 days of paid sick leave to workers every year.

To me, one of the scariest things is that the U.S. provides no job protection for workers who are forced out of work for an illness. So while many states are “fire at will” states requiring no “cause” for firing an employee (been there), employees can be fired for missing work because they are out sick. Studies show that internationally we lag other countries in both short-term (usually defined as 5 days) and long-term sick leave policies. So again, a worker who misses work for, say, a 30-day cancer treatment takes that time without pay and then can be fired because of time missed.

There’s something wrong with that.

Now I understand some of the issues, especially the fear that small businesses would bear a heavy burden for giving employees 7 paid sick days and 2 weeks of paid vacation time. In all probability, new any new requirements would separate big from small . . . Perhaps companies with more than 50 employees and those with fewer than 50 is where the requirement split would be.

So if we can offer every worker in the country health insurance at a reasonable cost, and offer more of them a vacation, leave and sick leave then we’re getting somewhere. Maybe not every worker will get a paid vacation, but how about offering any vacation time without penalties. Or a sick-day policy that lets an employee stay at him if the flu hits without worrying if that will get him or her fired? Doesn't that help us all? Isn't that a reasonable way to help the middle class and start to close workplace inequities?

It’s Labor Day . . . Now get back to work.

1. Bureau of Labor Statistics, FOX and Economic Policy Institute

2. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Food insecurity . . . A national crisis we want to solve?

(Part 2 of 3 . . . It's really just a question of "if" when we talk about food security. "If" we feel it's a national crisis, then we can solve it. We can be good at that. But too often politics stand in the way of problem-solving. "If" we want the problem solved then how do we get politicians to help instead of hinder efforts to responsibly help those in need of a better food supply? It's time. It's past time.)

So while the single mother feeds her kids the last of the oatmeal for dinner . . . and I dine on my organic tomato salad sprinkled with feta and a vinaigrette, a group of school cafeteria workers is wondering how some of their school kids will make it through the weekend without the breakfast and lunch they offer students.

Across the country . . . America . . . there are 15.8 million children under 18-years-old who live in households where they are unable to consistently access enough nutritious food necessary for a healthy life.¹

That’s shameful.

At least I think so. In my naïve view, I don’t think any kids should go hungry here. We have the ability to provide nutritious food to each and every family here, and I think that should be a national priority.

Instead, the House has proposed cutting SNAP funding by $125 billion over 10 years, or by 34 percent. Currently, the average person receiving SNAP (food stamps) gets $128 a month. With about 46 million Americans currently receive some type of food stamp benefit, but those cuts would mean 11 to 12 million people would lose their benefits, or all benefits would be cut by $55 a month. It would be up to individual states how exactly to manage those cuts.

Although that proposal probably won’t make it through the House and Senate, it shows where some politicians are positioned on cuts to those who need the safety net the most.

Meanwhile, Congress fights over whether or not to shut down the government over its inability to reach a long-term budget agreement. Or, actually, any budget agreement.

So while Washington haggles, and lobbyists fight for more money for oil companies, gun makers, retired people and power companies, kids and families go hungry. What’s wrong with this picture? A lot. Thank goodness for the people on the front lines who not only see the problem first hand, but are doing something about it . . . despite the budget and financial roadblocks, political resistance and in many cases administrative hurdles. Cafeteria workers, teachers, farmers and others are building an army of “do it now” problem solvers facing the issues head on and without the usual political excuses we often hear. They just don’t care about that. Actions speak.

Many school districts are now offering both breakfast and lunch to kids . . . regardless of their ability to pay . . . Good meals for every kid in school. What a concept. Some schools and charities (often spearheaded by cafeteria workers) are sending needy kids home with food for the weekend. In the beginning, school employees got in trouble for that . . . A couple got fired. But the wave started as the problems gained public awareness. Publicity does that.

A second part of the school meal program discussion has been a growing national move to improve the quality of meals, getting rid of cheap carb-heavy and fried foods and creating meals with better nutritional profiles. Michelle Obama has come under a lot of heat for her food initiatives, but they have caught on with chefs, educators, food service people and parents. Why do some people argue against better nutrition for kids?

Here’s an idea of school lunches around the world. (Such comparisons are a bit unfair, of course, since they are hardly a representation of all school lunches in every school, but, still, it’s a point of interest  . . . at least to see what some lunches look like elsewhere.)

http://www.businessinsider.com/school-lunches-in-the-us-compared-to-other-countries-2015-2

So the question is, can we find the national will to keep the wave going? Do we see food insecurity as a national crisis? Do we feel families are just as important as the military, or building new rail systems, or health care? Are we willing to put in the time and effort to make sure that every man, woman and child in the U.S. has access to food on a regular basis? Should feeding kids in school be a national objective? How do we pay for it?

A lot of questions, to be sure, but we need to start at the beginning . . . Is food security a national crisis? I believe it is.

1. Coleman-Jensen, A., Gregory, C., & Singh, A. (2014. Household Food Security in the United States in 2013. USDA ERS)

Food insecurity . . . People are starving here, but politicians continue to cut programs that help them

(Part 1 of 3 . . . These are the stories we read, but then move on. These are the stories that break our hearts but elicit no changes in how our country deals with food insecurity. It's a real problem here in America . . . A place where we talk about our "exceptionalism" and often how bad other countries are, but a place where children are starving and millions of families don't know where their next meal is coming from.)

How lucky for some of us to be able to buy fresh food, good food and safe food.

How not lucky for millions of other people not to be able to do that.

Some 14-plus percent of American households are food insecure . . . Children were food insecure at times during the year in 9.9 percent of households with children. These 3.8 million households were unable at times during the year to provide adequate, nutritious food for their children. (World Hunger Education Services) That means those people often have no idea from where their next meal will come from.

Let’s put this another way: We see photos of starving children overseas in some impoverished country amid squalor and misery and a charity asking for our money to help them. Heartbreaking indeed. The same thing is happening here, in a nation many call “exceptional,” or the “best country in the world.” Children and families are starving here. In America. Right now.

And yet many politicians want to cut things like aid to the poor and unemployed or underemployed, food stamps (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and school lunch programs. In part because some of them believe the less fortunate are lazy, need a push, just pretending to need government assistance, are drug addicts or are, in some way, gaming the system.

Study after study shows those things just aren’t true.

Let’s take drug testing welfare recipients as an example. This idea goes back several years, and states like Florida, Arizona and Wisconsin have implemented drug testing programs with the stated belief that the states would save millions by throwing druggies off the dole. Hasn’t quite worked out that way . . . Arizona residents, as an example, spent millions of dollars implementing its program, testing nearly 90,000 welfare recipients over three years. The result: One test came up positive. One. That saved the state $560.

In 5 years, 3 people failed their drug tests in Arizona. Arizona told taxpayers they would save at least $1.7 million by implementing the drug-testing program. Not so much.

Similar results have been found through the states’ SNAP programs.

Of course some people game the system. Of course, some people get money or benefits they don’t deserve, and of course some people lie and cheat. But apparently not many. The guy spending SNAP money to buy lobster is an aberration, not norm. We like stories that fit into our beliefs, so when we read about someone caught cheating, we buy into the belief that everyone is.

That is, according to study after study, just not true. Do we need tighter control and a more streamlined and efficient system? Sure. That’s true with many program. Do we need to make sure the people that really need help get help and don’t suddenly get dropped from a program because of some bureaucratic flaw? Absolutely. Do we want to make sure we catch and prosecute cheaters? Always.

But politicians perpetuate the belief that everyone is a cheater and people buy into that, despite the evidence.

So I can go buy all the organic tomatoes I want, but the single mother with two kids at home in the Midwest hopes there’s enough oatmeal left in the container to offer her kids for dinner. She’ll hope the food bank has some fresh produce when she heads there tomorrow.

In America.

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/us_hunger_facts.htm