Of course.
They're little shavers.
Posted on 03/05/2005 1:17:09 PM PST by flixxx
Kids should be allowed to work in sawmills. It build character and teaches them to pay attention.
- Johnny "Stumpy" Harrison
Of course.
They're little shavers.
hilarious. That is too funny.
Well if we rid ourselves of child labor laws then maybe wal-mart will build a few factories here.
I'll be damned before I ever haul hay again.
They have machines for it now, but BACK IN THE DAY... ;-)
LOL
A sawmill is a dangerous place no matter how old you are. I worked in a sawmill for a few years and had some close calls and I paid attention. I caught a 6 inch diameter log across the chest once.
I was working near a big industrial sized wood chipper when a log got to the chipper blades, caught and slammed against the shroud and busted off. I looked up just in time to see it spinning across the room at me and I jerked my head out of the way. It caught me across my chest and broke 4 ribs and cracked my sternum. I wore the flak jacket they provided after that.
The title of the article caught my attention. My brothers and I grew up in a logging/sawmill family. We owned the only sawmill that provided lumber for 100 miles and logged all our own timber. No one ever lost a finger, hand, foot, arm or had any other accident. My father "taught" safety to us. What a concept.... parents actually being allowed to be parents. The age of introduction to the mill was 9. We started shoveling shavings and sawdust out from under the machinery. By the time we were 12, we were full time loggers and mill workers. Every one of us has gone on to win performance awards in highly-skilled positions of life.
Integrity does rock doesn't it?
Nothing better!
When I was twelve my family bought a pathetic, broken down country store in the middle of nowhere. I pumped gasoline and sliced lunch meat on an electric slicer and cut cheese with a big sharp knife. Yeah, it helped build character but there is no way I would have let my daughter near that electric slicer when she was twelve. Makes me shudder when I think of it now. Kids are kids and they don't have the body strength or maturity that is sometimes needed.
The broader question is, are our national child labor laws benevolent or destructive?
I don't think we want to see little kids working in sweat shops 18 hours a day. But the idea that kids can't work at all is crazy. Why is it better to hang around getting into trouble than doing a few hours honest work every day?
Most of my kids have worked when they got old enough, and it has always been a positive experience for them. Play time is important too, but after kids pass a certain age they need to have something to do and some sense of what it means to earn your own money.
Ouch...I've had ribs broken before, but only one at a time - and it was hard to get a good breath with just that.
Now that we have Schwarzenegger's stupid Sierra-Nevada CONservancy, we'll soon have the remaing private timberland shut down an the remaining 5% of mills, with it!!!
Then the kids can't even play in the sawdust piles on weekends!!!
I was lucky it caught me broadside and not on the pointy end. I assume it's kinda like having Sammy Sousa or A-rod taking a home running swing at you. It wiped me off my feet.
That is absolutely true.
I would not buy insurance for my sons when they became old enough to get a driver's license.
So prior to the age of 16, they were working at restaurants, hobby shops, and golf courses to make the $1000 a year they would need for insurance.
When they had a collison or speeding ticket, they had to pay the increase premium.
One son could not keep up with his rising payments so he had to quit driving.
His car is sitting in my driveway right this very moment.
I have always thought that in eighth grade one should have the option of ending and go on to work. There are a lot of children who neeed to get on with their lives and will work and perhaps eventually go to night school/
My little sister
used to honk the local moose.
Until it bit her!
I think the "broader question" is are national child labor laws constitutional?
For the sake of argument, I will acknowledge, reluctantly, that Congress has jurisdiction and power for such a federal law emanating from the "commerce clause" (when did a "foreign nation," or "one of the several states" or "Indian tribes" become a private business?), but such power has to respect the Bill of Rights.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others (rights) retained by the people.
Is not the decision as to whether children work or not a right "retained by the people," or their parent(s)?
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