Posted on 08/11/2011 8:23:17 PM PDT by Melissa 24
Three southwest Washington strawberry growers were fined $73,000 last week after the U.S. Department of Labor found children between the ages of six and 11 working in their strawberries fields in June.
While an exemption in the federal child labor law allows 12- and 13-year-olds to work for unlimited hours on large agricultural operations, children under the age of 12 are strictly prohibited from working under similar conditions.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I worked in the fields picking strawberries when I was six to 16. I was so happy when I made money at minimum wage in the cannery, instead of 2 dollars for a whole days work. My parents would have been arrested by the fascists—so would have Lincoln’s parents, and Ben Franklin’s, and Edison’s and John Adams, ETC.
Child Labor laws were created to destroy the family and make children useless to the parents—drive the Marxist wedge, so to say to give the state power over children.
In the Underground History of American Education, John Taylor Gatto explains it this way.....self esteem was created in families who worked together. They taught young children how to work the farm and gain life saving skills, which builds true self-esteem because they felt needed and important to the family. Was it hard? Yes, but it was good experience and good exercise and great for building character and reducing pride—the downfall of so many people and relationships now a days.
Schools were set up to create “group think”. To kill individualism. To humiliate the exceptional. To infantilize children—make them dependent on permission from an adult for everything. Dewey was a socialist—(Father of our American Education system in the 30’s)—He set it up to create little useful idiots who weren’t like Edison, Wright bros. etc.
Gatto explains it beautifully, although it is a little long to wade through....it is free online.
They learned by doing—the best method for learning is experience—and they learned endurance and an appreciation for things. They had great respect for just the every day food on the table because they understood how hard it was to put it there. They appreciated the hard work and suffering the parents went through to make ends meet. They hardly wasted any time. Free time was precious.
I learned to love life and appreciate all the good times and fun. Hard work is what builds character and it is what builds integrity and respect for oneself and others. It teaches “life is not all about me”—creates unselfish, thankful children.
Yes, child abuse is not good, but having children work when young was how children (prior to Dewey and the socialism of the 60;s) were raised. And there was a big difference on working on the farm and working in the India rug weaving factories or China.
But then—life is hard and the Marxists want an “easy” “lazy” childhood for our children, so they are fat and stupid, can not care for themselves, and have no perseverance, are lazy, and are selfish, like drug addicts and the worthless ACORN thugs. They have so much free time to get into trouble and hang out with “peers” who don’t have knowledge to impart or skills to impart like the family does.
Most children in pre-60’s America worked and helped in stores and were the better for it. It wasn’t child abuse.....They were much more educated and intelligent than today’s children. They memorized the Declaration of Independence and knew how to diagram sentences, do calculus, and knew geography. They had so much more “common sense” which only comes from doing things, and going through hardships, and having relationship with family who care about what they are learning.
Most children weren’t abused—But TODAY the state would take Ben Franklin away from his parents. Back then it would have been so unconstitutional they never broached the subject. Just another example of the State interfering with parent’s duty—to destroy family. My father worked very hard on a farm being the only boy with hundreds of cows and he was intelligent and started his own business after serving in WWII and he was very successful. He was so independent—(Marxists really hated him—he hated Unions).
Dad had common sense—acquired by hard work—working with his hands, learning about nature, recognized liars/Marxists....He learned perseverance-—the one quality which determines the successful adult. He was almost killed in a car accident when he was almost 50—almost lost his business because he was in a hospital bed for almost a year of his life in traction. He was in tremendous pain for the rest of his life—but he built his business back up—and never complained even though his crushed hip made him limp for the rest of his life. Never went into debt for anything. Lived to be 87 and left over a million dollars to his children.
Those kind of people are not being allowed to be raised anymore....the State doesn’t want men like my father. They want to destroy people of honor and character, who do their duty to their family. Those type of people don’t want nanny government telling them what to do and interfering with their families.
I like strawberries and I like kids.
Win-win.
My kids (younger than 12) couldn’t wait for the berry crop to be ready to harvest. They loved the money, but even more, loved eating all the strawberries they could hold. It was great experience and they look back on it fondly.
My grandparents farmed wheat, peas, pinto beans, green beens, and the neighbor who owned 2000 acres paid $1 per crate, and we would work all day for about $5. Finally by age 9, I saved enough to buy a $26 TV (new), and a fishing pole from the local hardware store. Then by age 10 I was driving a combine, harvesting about 30 acres per day, or moving about 50 acres of irrigation pipe and paying payrol income taxes. I’ve never been on unemployment, or welfare, and picking berries was my first step to being a responsible taxpayer. This ‘government fine’ is an attack on American family values, and is completely outrageous.
If the kids were missing out on school, they should be fined to the hilt but since this was during the summer, the Feds should butt out and let the parents make the decision about what kind of work (if any) their children should do during the summer.
From reading the article, it seems that these youngsters were subcontracted employees of their picker-parents, rather than hired hands of the farmers.
Let’s find out to whom the checks were written.
Benefits to the parents are two fold: increased earnings with no increase in their toiling; and no child care outlay...and the farmer takes it in shorts when the inspectors arrive.
Next step: parents sue the farmer for “exploiting” them.
I'm guessing, too, but based upon some knowlege of similar cases: a refusal would have gotten TF an @ss whopping, and he would have also still done the work...and kept at it until finished.
This story was ridiculous. Look at the comment section, I am sure it was not what they expected. Think!!! Allowed, which means they are NOT forced.
Sorry, but I don’t agree. I was 9 mucking stalls all morning, feeding the horses, etc. and I didn’t even get paid, I got to ride, 8hr day and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. My own sons, worked a neighbors farm, picking rocks out of the pastures and building and fixing fences.
I wonder if the government is worried about kids getting Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from playing video games all day!
My brother started a lawn service business at 12. By the time he got his Driver’s License, he bought a car brand new out of the showroom for cash.
When school is not in session.
The business would not be able to "force" the kids to do anything if the parents did not allow it. The parents determine what the limit of the working hours are.
In which case, you have EXACTLY the same situation as kids working a family farm, where their parents decide the maximum work hours there.
I just got home from visiting my wife’s aunt and uncle. They are in their upper 70s. He told me about his daily requirement for picking cotton on the family farm when he was 6 years old. He asked me to guess. I guessed two pounds. I was very far off. He had to pick 50 pounds per day.
“My kids don’t work either. They have chores like take out the trash.”
How precious. I worked in H.R. for years, and employees with this background had a great sense of entitlement; delusions of grandeur with corresponding salary expectation; no clue how to interact with, or respect, supervisors; and had the reputation of being arrogant a-holes and buffoons. Turned out they were more trouble than they were worth. (But I’m sure your kids will be different.)
I grew up in town but my husband came straight home from school and worked everyday. He just barely remembers the cotton pickers and we still have a couple of the long bags that they used.
Work is GOOD for children.
I started work when I was 9 sacking groceries. From that day forward I have never been unemployed, laid off, or out of work for any reason. I’ve owned my own business since 1979. Back then children worked and were proud to hold a job. Better yet, they learned the work ethic and many that I knew back then either own their own businesses or work in a supervisory or managerial level at larger businesses.
Compare a teenage boy of the year 1960 to one of today. You would think you were on a different world! There is no comparison thanks to diversity, Political Correctness, sensitivity and self-esteem agendas.
It’s sad.
Right, by the time a boy (girls were cut some slack, but not much) was twelve years old, in good cotton, he was expected to be picking 200 pounds a day. The standard pay of $3.00 per hundred never varied over the years.
In 1960 wife and I got married at ten o’clock in the morning, we were back in the field by by noon and picked cotton until dark. That night father-in-law bought us our wedding dinner, a foot long chili dog at the Log Cabin drive-in. We left a month later and have never looked back to where we were born and raised.
Last year we celebrated out 50th wedding anniversary. In the video when retaking vows, one can hear Elvis make me promise I won’t make wife pick cotton for the rest of the day. (sister had told him the story)
http://hstrial-rchambers.homestead.com/Our-50th-wedding-anniversary.html
Video (may take a while to load) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGrDyM5-RJs&feature=player_embedded
I bet you had a great time. Riding the horses was a nice payday if you ask me. And you kids did learn responsibility which is great.
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