Child Labor laws had the same three origins as most of today’s systemic ills:
1) The humanitarianism and moralizing of the 1880’s religious revival (nothing was done about it)
2) The political idealism of the Progressives 1900’s-1920’s (some small concessions and curbing of abuses were made)
3) As a New Deal “solution” to the economic disaster of the Great Depression as a way to reduce the labor pool and preserve jobs for a single breadwinner per family. This became official and permanent societal doctrine and norm with a full range of pervasive sociological propaganda, true and semi-true. (Women were also forced out of factories and back to the city home at the same time for the short period between the roaring 20’s and WWII for the same reason - job rationing.)
Long after abuses were curbed and the reasons for the expediency are gone however, the policy remains in force due to an alliance of left and right, regardless of any ancillary and deleterious effects - delayed adulthood, loss of work ethic, counter-culture etc.
Bet I explain it better than Newt :-)
The left gets overwrought about child labor overseas but overlooks the alternatives and results of getting their way.
In west Africa children who once worked on plantations were the last pennies that kept a family from starvation. Well meaning lefties come along and harass the owner to stop hiring children. The children then become too expensive for the parents to care for. The kids end up begging in the street, enslaved in drug or sex trades or fighting in African child armies.
It's a good thing that the abuses were curbed. That way all those 8 and 9 and 10 year olds cleaning the school won't be taken advantage of. Much. Combine that with repealing the minimum wage and those schools will be cleaned for next to nothing.
And why stop at janitors? Get the kids to replace the lunchroom staff. And teachers. Why not teachers? Get 8th graders to teach 4th graders, 7th graders to teach 3rd graders, and so on. How hard can it be? Then you'll do away with every unionized resource in the school and run them at a fraction of the cost.
“Bet I explain it better than Newt :-)”
You did a good job. ;-)
However, Newt is quite capable too.
Years ago, I required my high-school American Government students to research antiquated laws that were still on the books. This was to show how government can be very inefficient... even here in the USA....particularly if it becomes too big or too institutionalized. These students had already studied the horrendous inefficiency of the the centralized gov’t of the (then) Soviet Union.
Common sense and wisdom are the remedies. One of my favorite quotations is:
“The first effect of not believing in God, is that you lose your common sense.” ...GK Chesterton
(Most leftists do not believe/trust in God....thus, the desire to make the state a god.)
Speaking of “delayed adulthood” check this out:
http://www.sarilaw.com/Articles/Child_Support/When_is_My_Child_Emancipated.aspx
If you are in NYS and a non-custodial dad (which is almost 90% the case in all divorces) then you are totally screwed.
I don’t think any “child” over 18 whose (usually) custodial mother is receiving “child” support on their behalf should be allowed to vote. After all, they are still “children” according to NYS law.