Sunday, March 13, 2011

Are there no work houses?

In a effort to get those lazy driftless children off the public dole and out into productive society, free market hero Jane Cunningham sponsored a bill in the Missouri congress which proposes the following:




SB 222 – This act modifies the child labor laws. It eliminates the prohibition on employment of children under age fourteen. Restrictions on the number of hours and restrictions on when a child may work during the day are also removed. It also repeals the requirement that a child ages fourteen or fifteen obtain a work certificate or work permit in order to be employed. Children under sixteen will also be allowed to work in any capacity in a motel, resort or hotel where sleeping accommodations are furnished. It also removes the authority of the director of the Division of Labor Standards to inspect employers who employ children and to require them to keep certain records for children they employ. It also repeals the presumption that the presence of a child in a workplace is evidence of employment.
This is not a joke.  The text of the bill has clearly been taken over since the pdf available at the above link tracks changes made in the bill text.  Don't really know what to say about this.  It took decades of determined effort to get rid of child labor in this country when business claimed that they needed child labor to be competitive. 

I have nothing to add, but to ask Jane Cunningham what it is like to live as a person without shame.

1 comment:

Spiros said...

I guess Cabin Boys would be permissible, since accommodation would be provided.