Are Child Labor Laws Unconstitutional, Should They Be Repealed?

a reply to: Bluntone22

A handful of GOPers disagree with the SCOTUS ruling.

An OP can be opinion-less. I'm withholding mine for now because I'm usually extremely opinionated and wanted to get a sense on this topic of others opinions without mine causing answers to be reactionary.

a reply to: Kali74

I think you'll be hard pressed to find people for repealing child labor laws until big money starts pushing for it. Then you'll have defenders suddenly start crawling all out of the woodwork.

I don't think big money is quite comfortable enough on it's hold in the US to start pushing this issue yet.

Which implies as being against it is the obvious overwhelming majority you will run into on here, for some strange reason you may be intending to argue for it. I'm not sure if it's to play devil's advocate or as a lead in to something else though.

Either that, or you're also against it and are trying to get everyone to agree so you can then compare it to something else similar that you want to convince everyone to agree with, but you know currently do not.

a reply to: ketsuko

It's a simple set of questions, whether I have an angle or not shouldn't matter. Would any angle anyone has change your opinion on the matter? I would hope not, therefor it should be easy to either answer the questions or ignore the thread.

Regarding your second post. Start your own thread don't try to change mine.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
Child labor laws are their to protect kids from situations like china.
Can't imagine a good reason to repeal them

I can. For those kids that are missing family structure in the home, fathers and neglective mothers which leads them to act out because they have no discipline. Maybe an after school 'job' might instill at least some personal responsibility and civic duty they will not care to have later on. Current events can be attributable indicators, no?

a reply to: Kali74


Sorry but your whole post feels like a fishing expedition.
Write something of substance and I'll converse with you.

a reply to: EternalShadow


Kids can have jobs. They are just limited on the ammount of hours they can work and the type of jobs they can do.

a reply to: Bluntone22

Cool. You gave your opinion for which I'm grateful.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: EternalShadow


Kids can have jobs. They are just limited on the ammount of hours they can work and the type of jobs they can do.

Hmm. Might curb the possibility of becoming a generational drug dealer or criminal. I don't know, anything at this point should be at least considered.

a reply to: EternalShadow

They can already have a job, I don't see how adding them to the full work force so it now requires both parents and children for a family to make a living will improve anything. Unless the goal is to stop anyone from ever doing anything by making it so no one ever has any free time or a life.

We need these laws to protect from exploitation. Sadly a thing the regular work force already is and needs it's own protection from.

a reply to: Kali74

If you want an answer, you'll address my question.

Do you think there are legitimate reasons a child would want to be gainfully employed?

You do understand this is how dialogue works right?

Still waiting for Kali to finish the OP, before actually turning into a discussion. Good topic to discuss, if gone about the right way . . . but as is someone is trying to get reactions or attack someone who disagrees rather than hold a discussion here.

a reply to: ketsuko

Then don't participate.

a reply to: JDeLattre89

An OP can be a set of questions. I haven't attacked any person that gave their opinion. This thread is just for sense of general consensus on the topic, if you don't want to give your opinion, then don't.

a reply to: EternalShadow
SO.... you want to recruit employers to be babysitters??

what were the compelling reasons that child labor laws were enacted to begin with?
the working environment wasn't safe for adults, let alone little children. did you know that they used to send little children into the small crevices in mines to plant explosives?
they also found that child labor was more exploitable, that abuse was kind of common.
it was more beneficial for kids to be in schools.
and I am sure there were others..

no, what compelling reasons can you think of that would justify allowing young children (must be talking about young children since older children can work, at least part time) into the workforce?
are there more jobs than there are workers, especially in those areas where more skill and intelligence would be required? don't think so!!!

do we need a less educated, less skilled workforce, since if children are spending time working, they are gonna be spending less time learning! again, no.

the only need that it would fill would be decrease the wages for those lower skilled jobs even more, but if done it would not only case more harm than good in the present, but also damage our future prospects also.

In that case here is your answer, the only one that can exist.

Child labor is NEVER mentioned in the US Constitution.

Therefore; no law for nor against child labor could conflict with the Constitution. In fact, unless an amendment is made in regards to the subject, this is a matter for states to decide the same as the legal age for drinking or what drugs should be legal. So, by that reckoning if child labor laws disagree with a constitution, it would be ones from individual states.

That being said . . . if I remember my poli-sci class (1 1/2 decades ago) there was an amendment on this subject proposed back in either the 1910's or 1920's, but it did not pass.

So in conclusion . . . any law passed by federal government on this subject would be in violation of the US Constitution. Specifically the 10th amendment stating that: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Therefore, this is something left for the states to regulate, not the fed.

Hope I was of some help.

a reply to: Kali74

I haven't seen too many people give their opinions.

a reply to: dawnstar

I would say that any child labor would have to take into account that it is not legal for kids to not be in school up until a certain age which is in high school. So if it were fully legal to allow child labor, it would not be legal to pre-empt schooling. That much at least would keep any of what you are talking about with forced labor and other such things from occurring they would be illegal.

a reply to: JDeLattre89

It was, thank-you.

a reply to: ketsuko

Their choice.

a reply to: JDeLattre89

What would your argument be against the Commerce Clause as justification for Constitutionality?