Several American states seek to reinstate child labour instead of raising adult wages.

(RT) ⸻ Amid an ongoing push for higher wages by US workers, some states are finding ways to undercut the working class by allowing children aged 14-17 into the workforce. Republican lawmakers in Iowa and Minnesota have introduced legislation that would allow exceptions to existing child labor regulations. This is aimed at ameliorating the ongoing labor shortage in the US, which is also plaguing other countries. The proposed bills in these states would allow children to work more hours and protect employers from liabilities due to sickness or accidents, which could help specific industries like construction and meatpacking. The federal government also created a new rule in January allowing people wishing to be professional truck drivers to obtain their Commercial Driver's License (CDL) at the age of 18 instead of 21. Safety advocates immediately called the initiative out, saying that inexperienced drivers could put the public at risk. This initiative would target children in shaky economic situations, e.g., the kind of kids who need to work a job and don't have parents who can afford to give them money. The US students lag behind peer countries in key metrics, and if the US economy has any hope of surviving in the future, it needs its students to perform better in math and science. Keeping students in the classroom and doing their homework is key to improving this area, and there are safety concerns at play. Minnesota wants to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to work in construction, and Iowa wants to allow even younger children to work in meat-packing plants. Additionally, managers from an Iowa Tyson Foods plant were fired after they were caught betting on which of their employees would contract Covid-19. Children should not be subject to these kinds of abuses, and the federal government has already noted an increase in illegal child labor practices. The proposed bills undermine workers' ability to organize for better pay, as expanding the workforce to include more teenage children would kneecap those already in their positions and hinder their chances of getting the pay they deserve. This is just another example of the abject moral depravity of corporate America and its ability to exploit each and every American for every drop of profit. The answer to the labor shortage is not to harken back to 19th-century child labor norms, but to give workers a fair wage, decent working conditions, and basic dignity. It is a lack of these exact things that have driven the mass exodus of Americans from menial jobs in hopes of finding more lucrative opportunities.