Sweet Memories

 Baby Boomers have lost a bit of their childhood. City, country, North or South, some things are part of our collective memory, and Nello Ferrara had a lot to do with that.

You may not know the name, but on the side of little boxes that likely were among the first things we ever purchased for ourselves, was the name Ferrara Pan Candy Co. If you still do not know what I am talking about, think Lemonheads, Atomic Fireballs, Redhots, or Boston Baked Beans.

Nello Ferrara passed away at his home outside of Chicago , Feb. 3.  He was 93.  It was Ferrara who led the company that came up each of these products. Some of them date back to the 1930s, and were enjoyed by the Great Depression era kids, when they were probably a penny for a little square of paper tied with a string.

He developed Atomic Fireballs after serving in Post War Japan. 

We all had our favorites. We bought the nickel boxes, looked for them inside the candy counter of the Saturday matinee, and wished without hope that the Easter Bunny would bring them instead of those ordinary Jelly Beans.

They became our comfort foods... Not something healthy our moms, aunts or grandmothers made, but something we bought from the first people we did business with using money out of our own pockets.

Even today, some of us will keep a few around. We will fib and say "they are for the grandchildren" but we have moments when we will put three or five or ei in our mouths and savor memories from childhoods that ended long ago.

Nello Ferrara made our lives sweeter. The candies he invented and the names he kept alive still make us smile. 

The one thing I remember most, is that they always did and always will taste better than that Brach's s--t!

Gradual Shakeout

We already know the Democratic presidential candidate will run on his record.     

 The Great Recession ended under his watch, and despite congressional gridlock, the nation's economy is slowly turning around.

Whether the incumbent is opposed by Mitt or Newt, we will hear loads of promises about job creation, lower taxes and increased opportunity. The problem with that is neither has a track record of making that happen.

Selling off the assets of floundering companies may create limited profits, but it does not put people back to work.Instead, people with jobs are declared surplus, and the machines they used to run to turn out products are shipped abroad for use in sweat shops.

Deregulation that makes outsourcing easier takes away the incentives for domestic growth as quickly as raising taxes.  Contract workers cost about one-third less than permanent staffers and have none of the protections of employees.

Luckily, private sector job creation  is up, and first time unemployment claims are down. All the negative ads and campaign talking points in the world cannot change reality.

The Nation Needs Great Works

"When more and more people are thrown out of work , unemployment results."-- Calvin Coolidge, U.S. President, 1923-1929

 

Those words made headlines in the Roaring Twenties, they were uttered by a committed deregulator in an era when irrational exuberance dominated the mood of investors, large and small.  Did I mention that the quote came shortly before the Wall Street Crash that led to the Great Depression?

(Photo By: Debra Davis-Holly)

I had really good history teachers in school and my love of the subject has helped me during more than 40 years as a journalist. While the technology changes from one era to the next, many of the problems are basically the same.  

Lessons Learned: When you turn the nation's future over to business, you roll the dice with leaders who are only accountable to their major stockholders. If things don't work out, a lot of little people lose out. 

 

Over the next nine months, we will hear a lot about freeing up business to create jobs and put Americans back to work. I'd love to see more jobs and more Americans working, but the people talking about that don't have real track records of creating good, permanent private sector jobs here at home.  

I'm not talking about part-time positions with no benefits, and I am definitely not talking about contract opportunities that pay by the day and leave workers twisting in the wind on taxes, unemployment insurance and healthcare.

 

Yes, lots of people need jobs, but the Great Recession has ended. Banks that were on the ropes are stabilizing and big manufacturing is rebounding. General Motors is once again the number one manufacturer of automobiles,  less than four years after a government bailout. Most of the Troubled Asset Relief Program funds have been paid back, but there's still a lot of work to be done, and much of that work could be projects literally right in your own backyards.

Drive through your community, or most any community in the nation, and you will see the results of bold infrastructure projects begun or completed as a result of public investment with the help of private labor. 

Examples? The interstate Highway System,  most major commercial airports, courthouses, schools, canals, ports, railroads, bridges, tunnels and water and sewage systems.

Photo By: Derrill Holly

When we have not invested in such things, the nation has suffered. When the world economy has stalled, those projects, financed by debt have kept people working and kept the nation moving forward.  They are productive pursuits that reap huge public benefits and tangible results.

Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton were builders. Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and two guys named Bush were not.  

 

My conservative friends will note that this is a bipartisan list. It includes visionaries who saw value in using the nation's infrastructure needs to put idle people to work. It also includes a number of "stand patters" who saw no need to modernize. One group looked ahead and the other sought savings that now clearly were not reinvested in the nation's future.

There are obviously no guarantees in life, but if business leaders-- you know, the ones throwing all of  that money into Super PACs-- aren't ready to hire Americans for full-time permanent jobs, I just don't see giving them the reins to the future.

At Risk: 75 Years of Progress

The 2012 elections are about the future. There are alternate versions of that future that could well be determined by one national election and 468 House and Senate races. 

People really need to think about what the vision so-called fiscal conservatives have for the nation. They do not see a role for Social Security, Medicare, Head Start, or universal access to health care. They envision a nation where people can do business with whom they choose, have different pricing structures for different types of customers and refuse to serve areas for any reason they choose, even without explaining it.

Some of them speak openly of limiting or even eliminating the rights of victims to turn to the courts for justice and relief when they've been injured through negligence or circumstance. Some would even shift control of federal money, raised through taxes we all pay into the hands of people in the states, and try to limit the ability of federal judges to intervene under the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

Already, we are hearing candidates label such jurists as "bad judges" because some of their rulings consider Equal Protection central to U.S. laws. They would reduce or eliminate Pell Grants , in favor of loan programs that would turn our children into indentured servants for decades to come. They would privatize Social Security, and look coldly at those whose future security was lost in a system rife with marketplace flaws.

In the age of Super PACs, with unlimited corporate money flowing in to support candidates who would place business ahead of fairness, we have to do more than just focus on the presidency. The prevent defense that's stifled work on Capitol Hill in recent years could be on the beginning. We could see a new "Contract With America" that winds up being a contract on the working man.

Thirty years ago, President Reagan led the charge to turn community block grants over to the states. Now some of those cities that used to receive them contain residential dead zones. They are entire neighborhoods, of abandoned houses, broken glass and decaying streets that rival the brownfields of long-dormant industrial sites we've been dealing with for decades.

Between 1980 and 1997, 27 percent of the nation's public hospitals closed, eliminating 66,000 beds. As Baby Boomers age, Medicare, becomes our problem. Free market healthcare could well jeopardize any retirement we are able to salvage from the Great Recession, and frankly, most of us do not have time to build a financial cushion to protect us from that risk.

Rest, assured, there are many problems, and of course there are limits to what the taxpayers and the nation can afford, but when it comes to programs I know my parents and grandparents depended on and found comfort in, I am just not willing to risk everything on a crapshoot with the profit mongers and speculators.

Who occupies the White House and who does the work on Capitol Hill could well determine if more of that is part of America's vision of the future. Everything from FDR's New Deal to Lyndon Johnson's Great Society is hanging in the balance.


They may say "beating Obama is the most important thing," but believe me, they've got bigger plans than that, and if their vision of "returning to American values" does not include you, then finding that out in 2013 could be a truly costly mistake.

The Great Recession: We Survived

The economic downturn that began in 2007 statistically ended in 2009. While the human suffering and the struggle to recover has continued, somewhere along the line, that two-year period became a defining era.

The Associated Press, arbiters of journalistic style, and the hardest working collective group of 4,500  journalists in the world now refers to the period as the Great Recession. That means it is on a par with other benchmark events of the past 160 years. Those include the Civil War, World War I, the Great Depression and World War II.

When you look around the room take pride in the fact that despite your diminished circumstances, your derailed retirement plans and the assorted boomerang children you may still be harboring, the fact of the matter is that you survived.

Seventy-five years from now, when people start reviewing the personal data of the 2010 U.S. Census, the details of your survival will become more than statistics. It will be part of the historic record and available to anyone who cares to look.

One of my brothers is a retired journalist who has used his talents for genealogical research in recent years. He has been able to look back on census date from 1930 and learn a lot about how my own family weathered the Great Depression.

It turns out that my maternal grandfather once was a member of my maternal grandmother's father's household. While I only knew my grandfather as an old man and great provider, he was once a young man dependent upon his wife's family for his very survival.

It's funny what history and official documents will be able to tell future generations about you and the people in your life. Very few of us will look back upon the Great Recession as "the good old days," but it is likely some of our children will remember it as a time when people of all types rediscovered the meaning of family.

Climbing out of the misery, and slowly watching people we care about find jobs and hope for better futures, some of us can look back at the spiraling collapse of the first decade of the 21st century. As we turn our thoughts to God and all the strength he helped to pull from deep within our souls, we can give thanks, smile inwardly and breathe the fresh breezes of relief.

Confronted with the all too real hardships of the Great Recession, we survived.

By Any Means Necessary

A lot of us are in the habit of carrying voter registration applications around with us.  We give them to people who may not be registered or may have changed residences since the last election.

Maybe we should take the time to talk about things like voter intimidation and other dirty tricks they may encounter when they head to the polls.  Some people take politics that seriously.

They will lie about their opponents and smile while claiming their motivations are for the good of the country.  If people will destroy jobs to make money, blame the problems of the nation on "those people" and repeatedly desert sick wives for younger women, do you think they won't cheat you out of a vote against them?

Caucus results from eight precincts in Iowa are missing and will likely never be found.  Black people are being labeled as the prime recipients of food stamps even though only 22 percent of the recipients are black. 

If a man abandons sick wives, do you think he'll have much problem ignoring sick and suffering strangers? Then, there are the candidates who would use the courts to force their way onto ballots they neglected to qualify for.

Voter registration is only the beginning, voter education is the rest of the story.  When you talk to would be voters, encourage them to join the fight, then let them know there are people out there working everyday to keep them away from the polls.

Where Will the Money Go?

Mitt Romney is filthy rich.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.  But it appears there are huge differences between fiscal conservatives and social conservatives.  One type is preoccupied with tax policy, deregulation and spending as little on the public as possible. The other often wants government to define, restrict or codify its beliefs. 

While so-called liberal Democrats provide the muscle and the people to get their candidates elected, the liberal leadership understands that there is no money without the progressive wing of the party.  Wealthy Republicans have always been able to count on the party to ensure that a relatively moderate speaking candidate survives to carry the party's standard. 

This time, you have Romney seeking the nomination against several remaining candidates that many believe appeal to social conservatives. 

Romney is being branded with the "L" word.  The man believes corporations are people and admits to getting a rush from firing folks. 

Some wealthy Republicans believe he might be good for business.  They are reportedly not too clear about the prospects for candidates who would spend too much time on issues like civil unions, abortion, and creationism. 

When you think about the last ten Republican presidential nominees, win or lose, none of them did much to change national policy on those issues. From Eisenhower through McCain, not much was said or done beyond the lip service to the language in the party platform.

So, how much money will fiscal conservatives be willing to spend on those sideshow issues?  My guess is not very much with any enthusiasm if they think it is bad for business. 

South Carolina may be the battleground for now, but don't look for it to be the final meaningful battle.  Those with the deepest pockets are now fighting for the heart and soul of the Grand Old Party. If Romney cannot pull off a slam dunk, you can bet Republicans with money will try to bring a voice of reason to the nomination fight.

Wait for it, WAIT FOR IT... “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." --Barry Goldwater, July 16, 1964

The preceding quote helped make The Great Society possible.

The Business of Governing

While you can try to run a nation like a family, you really can't run one like a business.  The motivations are different.

Families take care of each other.  They recognize strengths and weaknesses and act with empathy on behalf of members in need.  They also keep a place for the rowdy and disagreeable even when it's not easy.

 Businesses try to make a profit. Now there's nothing wrong with profits, but often getting there means neglecting the weak and casting off the disagreeable.  Anybody whose ever worked for a company or in an industry forced to change its business model knows the drill.

"We are downsizing... it's a business decision."  One way businesses have prospered in recent years is to absorb struggling firms, sell off what doesn't work, compromise the old pension plan and contract out production.  "We'll keep the brand, but slap the nameplates on something we made overseas."

Running the nation like a business is a scary approach.  Can you imagine selling off Cleveland, or Buffalo, or St. Louis just because aging urban centers are no longer profitable?

Coming out of the Great Depression, people did not have a lot of faith in bankers. They also expected businesses to change.  Very little of the change that followed was voluntary.

Much of the New Deal wound up before the Supreme Court. While everything the president came up with did not work. Those things that did, have worked well for more than sixty years.

I'm not ready to trust a banker. I also do not want to see the country run like a business.  That kind of mandate could lead to some very good people being declared surplus.

No Envy Here

It is hard being poor. You grow up sharing the little that you have, but you don't really mind that because you don't really know any other way of life.

People tell you that if you study and work hard, there's a chance you can make things better for yourself and your family. A lot of poor people do just that. They don't sit around waiting for gifts and free stuff and they take a lot of jobs that will never make them rich.

Most poor people love their country. Many of them sign up for the opportunity to defend it. If you've never been to a boot camp graduation ceremony, you really haven't met the people who believe in America the most.

They are ordinary people who use their free time to prepare for more opportunities. They take care of their parents, their children and their grandchildren. Then they go to their churches ans their synagogues and temples and thank God for the basics.

We're not talking about luxuries here. We're talking about  good health, shelter and food, and maybe a little extra for some ice cream, or a beer and a couple of dances at a neighborhood bar or sawdust covered, wood floor honkey-tonk, off the county road.

They are also the people who show up with a shovel, a mop and gallon of bleach when a neighbor's home floods or the sewer backs up. They smile and volunteer their time and their limited resources to help out in their communities. What they lack in money, they make up for with warm smiles and sincere desires that every nickel they help raise can help solve a problem for a family up against it.

People like that don't really have a lot of time to envy those fortunate to have a little or a lot more. They have entirely too much to do than to worry about who is rich and who is not.  And they really are too busy trying to stay focused on life and living their faith to hate or blame anyone branded with responsibility for what's wrong with the country.

The term "politics of envy" being thrown around like that is someone's reality. I think to dismiss the wants and needs of people who have struggled to help theiir family's survive the worst economic downturn in 70 years is just cold and heartless.  People want the best for their children.  Many want to give their young adults reasons to hope for a better future. 

While the one percent don't make the country work, it's these people, the ones with the pimples, the bad teeth, the worn shoes and good hearts, that keep faith in America.  They fill the military's ranks, they spend most of their money on basic consumer goods and they never give up hope that better days are ahead for their children and grandchildren. They are the ones who almost always play the hand they are dealt.  The decision makers owe them a fair shake. 

Shhhh The News is On

Remember when there were just three television networks and we saw the world in black and white? Most people only had one television in their homes and the radio in the car was AM only.  Still, it seemed like everybody, from housewives and janitors, to secretaries and factory workers shared one thing with their bosses. 

They read two newspapers a day Monday through Friday, at least one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Besides the morning and evening papers, that were gently read and refolded for respected adults who couldn't see them until later, there were ethnic papers that offered thoughtful and focused perspectives.

The people we depended on also heard real news on the radio.Whether they had limited or no education or the benefits of college and more, they got a view of the nation and the world that could never be gleaned from those rare long-distance calls to distant relatives who lived in other parts of the country.

Generations of children grew up understanding that news was information, even if it was less than complete. If it was slanted in one direction or another, having some information was so much better than being ignorant.

I remember sitting there quietly with my brothers or cousins and watching grainy film that was often days old, as middle aged men and their white male reporters offered their observations about world events. If you were anywhere on the block, you were expected to be there when the news came on.

The stories might be fodder for dinner table conversation, or something to be discussed between parents and their friends or siblings after Sunday dinner. I grew up thinking it was necessary and natural to know something about the world beyond my neighborhood.

Today, there may be fewer newspapers and quality radio news is something you have to search for, but national and international news is a 24/7 packaged product. It is presented in living color and nearly as instantly as it occurs.

Yet, children and many adults seem clueless about world events. Ask five of them individually, for the last names of three of the Republican presidential hopefuls and three may have a hard time coming up with right answers. Ask them if Americans are still fighting in Iraq and they may not know we left in December.  Ask them what's going on in the world and they may smile and tell you the NBA lockout is over.

I wonder what would happen if we tried a little something different. Instead of doing what our grandparents would do which was to hush us up and offer the look that meant "park it and learn something,." we tried an instructive but abrupt  approach.

It might be something like this "Don't leave, 'Sit down now, and shut up, the news is on! It's your world, you might learn something." 

DeHoll-- My World, My View, 01-02-2011