Govt Forcing Teens To Sit On Butts “Wacko”?

As if to naively illustrate nation’s morale decade, No. 46 calls GOP’s “work for welfare” proposal, btw one that he once demanded, “wacko,” while Jason Riley opines “A Little Work Never Hurt Anyone – Including Teenagers.”

As the WSJ columnist recently noted in the same vein: “Over objections from Big Labor, governors of both parties [are now working to ease limits on youth employment.” Now, besides protecting the especially vulnerable young from exploitive employers, why would Big Labor object to letting teens find jobs? As Mr. Riley says, “The US employment rate in March was just 3.5%, but among teenagers it was 9.8% -- close to three times as high. It’s not unusual to have a higher teen jobless rate, but it’s a situation that deserves more attention from policy makers when labor markets remain extremely tight … In 1978, labor-force participation among 16-to-19-yr-olds was nearly 60% … Today, it’s only 37%.” Two big reasons, Riley suggests are “minimum wage laws” and laws that make it illegal to hire teenagers “at any wage.”

If so, the columnist notes, it is a situation that “a growing number of states are moving to change.” For instance, Iowa, Minnesota & Ohio are among the states easing teen work requirements, i.e., with parental permission, while Arkansas nixed the requirement that 14- and 15-yr-olds get STATE permission to find a job. “It’s apparently not enough for Democrats to trap kids in failing schools,” said Ark. Gov Sarah Huckabee Sanders, “they also want to make it harder for teenagers to work part time or get summer jobs.” On the other hand, Riley wrote, CA Gov Gavin Newsom “mocked Ms. Sanders” about “legislative priorities” yet “last year at the urging of labor unions … signed legislation that allows the cost of hiring a fast-food worker to increase by an average of 41%.” The NYT likewise piled on the GOP gov. Concludes Riley: The reality is that opponents of these state laws are carrying water for Big Labor. The goal is not protecting children. Rather, it’s protecting the pay of current employees by restricting the supply of labor.” Besides, he asks, isn’t learning how to earn part of growing up responsibly?

Davd Soul