400 square miles burnt and no sign of a Civilian Conservation Corps

(Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in Georgia, 1933. Millions of men, including World War 1 veterans, Indians, and young adults desperate for a paycheck, found work in the CCC. Among their many work responsibilities were fire prevention and fire fighting. Photo courtesy of the National Archives and the New Deal Network.)

Recently, about 400 square miles have burned in Washington State. 

Currently, unemployment is still high for young adults (as it has been for the past 6+ years). For example, for men between the ages of 20 and 24, the unemployment rate in June 2014 was 11.7% (and we know that official unemployment figures rarely capture the whole problem).

One would think that a country facing record-setting wildfires, higher-than-normal temperatures, and a high unemployment rate for young adults, would look to the past and see what has worked before. For example, the Civilian Conservation Corps. Are we?

Nope.

Republican & Tea Party politicians are too busy trying to bar low-income Americans from health insurance, and Democrats are trying desperately not to appear too "socialistic."

So, we let the goals & dreams of our youth burn alongside our natural areas, as we wait for the mythical "JOB CREATORS" to come to the rescue, and as our political "leaders" pocket their campaign cash.