The government has replaced Mom and Dad with private businesses that hire employees. We have all morphed into BABY SITTERS and an ENDLESS SOURCE OF INCOME FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION.
When I started my business back then the only thing that was required by the government was to withhold taxes and Social Security from their paychecks and nothing else. No other government involvement at all in the State of Texas.
Today you can compare business, government and the legal profession to ants and aphids. You know...those little bugs that have these little tubes on their back that when scratched secrete a sugary fluid that ants love?
With that in mind the cost of doing business in both actual outlay of payroll, the costs of protection from legal suits, compliance to government regulations, and the time and costs from handling and processing all paperwork involved, and compliance to a myriad of safety and environmental regulations, and a horde of various taxes, has made the profitability (and joy) of running a business a nightmare and a minefield.
What it has come down to is that the general population used to be thankful to have a job. Now they think it is a right. When I first entered the workforce when I was only 9 I was told by my boss “you came here looking for a job and you can leave here looking for a job.” I didn't understand fully at the time what he meant but later I did. He was telling me that if I didn't like my job I was free to go look for another. Today's employee generally has no concept to that philosophy.
Just wait till next year when the Feds start compelling you to submit quarterly payroll data, broken down by race and gender. What employer wants to deal with such a painful exercise which, and the end of the day, can only open them to lawsuits?