Pretty messed up that child labor is making a comeback in the US

I guess it’s not surprising given decades of attacks on workers’ rights, but I thought that with all the “protect the children” rhetoric, there wouldn’t be so much support for allowing 14-year-olds to work in factories or long hours. Of course that was empty rhetoric and only applies to wedge issues like book bans and keeping school bathrooms policed. A few headlines about “labor shortages” and it’s time for red states to start letting more and younger children work. These laws are mainly to protect immigrant children working in the fields and factories. It won’t be affluent white suburban kids doing this work. This is not about your after school gig.

The declining rate of profit and its consequences…

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CestManan · 46-50, F

Wait what's going on? I remember back in the early '90s we were allowed to have part-time jobs in some places if you were at least 15 or older but the hours were pretty limited.

SW-User

@CestManan Here’s an example of what’s going on in Iowa:

https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/18/iowa-senate-child-labor-law

CestManan · 46-50, F

@SW-User So what short amount of time the kids have to be kids, the republicans want to take more of that away by sending them into labor or whatever jobs?

It seems strange how they want to "protect" kids from things like drag queen story hour but NOT protect kids when it comes to things like having to work.

If a teenager WANTS to work for spending money or save for their first car that is one thing but the jobs and hours need to be limited.

I remember when we were in high school and wanted to get jobs, thinking it would be so great (how little we knew) our parents were like, "You have the rest of your lives to work."

It seems funny also how supposedly so many jobs are off shore, automated, and eliminated YET there is a labor shortage?
Well if all these jobs are obsolete then there should not be a labor shortage, right?