From time to time, I am reminded of the laws that are created to protect us, whether it be due to our tendency to forget history, our imperfect memories, or simply from our own experiences.
Nowadays, we no longer need laws to ensure that people have clean rivers for healthy fishing and tourism. If even those jobs could be created, we would be happy to sacrifice our own selfish desires to protect public health from the hazards created by those jobs. We were happy not to eat the fish caught in Montana’s rivers because we knew they contained high levels of arsenic and lead. We didn’t need them because we didn’t have environmental protection laws years ago, for instance.
Another realm of collective amnesia is the reason behind the existence of laws to safeguard employees.
Because immigration encourages Americans to take jobs away, we cannot encourage immigration. So, what can we do to fill the gap? The main reason is that there is a shortage of employable citizens who are not taking themselves out of the labor market since they did not have enough children and are now reaching retirement age, which has swelled the population of working people. The main reason for the shortage of workers is the shortage of employees that employers find hard to find in today’s job market.
If you are unable to have elderly individuals work, allow the children to take their place. Who would be more suitable to determine at what age a child can start working than the children themselves, regardless of whether they consult their parents or not? Ease up on regulations regarding child labor, as now a clever proposal has emerged from an organization known as the Foundation for Government Accountability.
Today’s work environments are the safest they have ever been. Perhaps there was a time when a lot of need and time were required. He says that based on the laws of child labor today, working conditions were commonly “atrocious.” James Harris, a fellow named by Project Solutions Opportunity FGA, promotes rolling back child labor laws.
Have we not overlooked the fact that, thanks to the implementation of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, one of the main factors contributing to their current safety levels is the efficiency of regulations regarding the employment of minors, naturally?
Bills were proposed in Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri, and various other states to simplify the process for companies, such as meat packing firms, to employ adolescents aged 14 to 16, with the intention of putting into action the principles set forth by the Foundation for Government Accountability. Initially, in Missouri, the proposed law did not mandate parental approval. However, it now does. (A search of the Montana Legislative database did not yield any similar requested legislation, but the Opportunity Solutions Project did have a registered lobbyist operating during the 2023 Legislature.)
Discussing the undocumented immigrant children who entered the country without their parents, let’s consider how they are potentially taking job opportunities away from American children. Additionally, it is worth noting that an uneducated workforce is often compliant. So, why should a child be required to stay in school until the age of 16 if they desire to start working at 14? The public school policy also shares responsibility for this situation.
Just mentioning that brings back memories of a full-circle loss of discussion. You can visit America’s largest man-made toxic reservoir, Berkley Pit, and see the pictures of young boys who worked as “breaker boys” in the mines. Butte is also a place you can go to. It’s not a good idea.