[pct-l] Why California's Trails Are Disappearing From Our Maps (aka Re: Pct-L Digest, Vol 73, Issue 32)

[Heather]

Brick, I'm not sure where you got your data? I worked for three different  defense contractors over a period  of 12 years, including proposal bids. Our companies were limited by law to a 4 or 4.5 % profit margin... 
Maybe I only worked for ethical ones? Or maybe trail maintenance profit margin is less than that?

Diane, are you gonna run for congress (jk) or somehow get that platform out there?! Yes, totally we should match up the jobless with the needed work - trailwork, roadwork, park cleanup, or otherwise!

Message: 10
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 19:45:35 -0800
From: Brick Robbins <brick at brickrobbins.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Pct-L Digest, Vol 73, Issue 32
To: "Pct-L at backcountry.net" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Message-ID:
   <CALV1NzkHFTSH_tx5KFjVT8hf78mB6GJtA3JGmA+-Q7-mhNRVGQ at mail.gmail.com>
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> On Tue, Jan 28, 2014 at 7:01 PM, Terry <tsparks56 at aol.com> wrote:
> Putting the unemployed back to work maintaining our trails does make sense,  that is, until you think back to just a couple of months ago, when EVERY National Forest in the Country was shut down by our elected leaders in Congress.
> To bad we don't have another FDR today.

There is a bigger profit margin in defense contracting than trail
maintenance, and the money goes into wealthier and more politically
influential pockets than people swinging Pulaskis and Macleods or
hiking the trails.

One Littoral Combat ship has a price tag of $600 Million so that is a
lot of money in  of a small number of corporate pockets, and since
corporations now have unlimited 1st amendment rights to contribute to
politicians, their lobbyists have lots of money from the bloated
contracts to buy the politicians.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Littoral_combat_ship

Wilderness areas don't have any lobbyists.