Dear Yuppie Girl;
Hello dear friend! I'd like your opinion on something. I've been thinking about what happened during our country's previous economic problems. My Dad was born the same year the Wall Street crashed, so I grew up hearing stories of what life was like for him and his family.
As part of FDR's "New Deal", they formed the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to try to deal with some of our country's environmental issues and employ young men who were jobless at that time. These boys joined the CCC and went away to a camp which was much like an army camp. They worked at jobs which they maybe had no experience, and they got fed and paid. Many of our nation's hiking trails, national parks amenities and much of our flood-control system is thanks to the CCC. There were over 60 CCC camps here in our state.
I saw an interview with a man who had been in the CCC. When he turned 16, as the oldest child in his family, his parents sat him down and pretty much said, "We can't afford to feed you anymore. You'll have to go out and make your own way in the world." He left home and lived as a hobo for a year, until he found out about the CCC. It was a godsend for him and so many like him.
When the government under Herbert Hoover finally approved the funds to build a great dam across the Colorado River, to irrigate the desert and control the flooding, tens of thousands of people left their dustbowl homes and went to Las Vegas. They camped in the desert for as much as a year, waiting for construction to start. Those men (few of whom were experienced dam builders) worked at some of the hardest jobs imaginable, in terrible heat and without adequate water. It was the only job around.
So here's my question: do you think the young men and women of your generation would still be willing to go anywhere, do anything, just to find work? I know you well enough to know that you would work ten minimum-wage jobs before you'd go to the welfare office. But what do you think of the work ethic and the tenacity of other people your age?
Hello dear friend! I'd like your opinion on something. I've been thinking about what happened during our country's previous economic problems. My Dad was born the same year the Wall Street crashed, so I grew up hearing stories of what life was like for him and his family.
As part of FDR's "New Deal", they formed the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to try to deal with some of our country's environmental issues and employ young men who were jobless at that time. These boys joined the CCC and went away to a camp which was much like an army camp. They worked at jobs which they maybe had no experience, and they got fed and paid. Many of our nation's hiking trails, national parks amenities and much of our flood-control system is thanks to the CCC. There were over 60 CCC camps here in our state.
I saw an interview with a man who had been in the CCC. When he turned 16, as the oldest child in his family, his parents sat him down and pretty much said, "We can't afford to feed you anymore. You'll have to go out and make your own way in the world." He left home and lived as a hobo for a year, until he found out about the CCC. It was a godsend for him and so many like him.
When the government under Herbert Hoover finally approved the funds to build a great dam across the Colorado River, to irrigate the desert and control the flooding, tens of thousands of people left their dustbowl homes and went to Las Vegas. They camped in the desert for as much as a year, waiting for construction to start. Those men (few of whom were experienced dam builders) worked at some of the hardest jobs imaginable, in terrible heat and without adequate water. It was the only job around.
So here's my question: do you think the young men and women of your generation would still be willing to go anywhere, do anything, just to find work? I know you well enough to know that you would work ten minimum-wage jobs before you'd go to the welfare office. But what do you think of the work ethic and the tenacity of other people your age?
Love,
Rural Mom
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