With the Trump administration planning to deport millions of hardworking immigrants, the nation faces the question: “Who will fill the jobs that immigrants used to do, jobs that American citizens don’t want?”
The Florida Republicans have the answer: Put school children to work for long hours and short pay.
Florida may loosen child labor regulations By Romy Ellenbogen and Ana Ceballos, Tampa Bay Times
TALLAHASSEE — Teenagers as young as 14 could soon be allowed to work overnight shifts as part of an effort in the Republican-led Legislature to roll back major aspects of the state’s child labor laws.
The proposal — passed 5-4 by the Florida Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee Tuesday — comes as Gov. Ron DeSantis says a younger workforce could be part of the solution to replacing “dirt cheap” labor from migrants in the country illegally.
The labor is “dirt cheap.” American adult citizens don’t want those “dirt cheap” crap jobs, but wait. The Republicans have found a replacement: Our children.
“Why do we say we need to import foreigners, even import them illegally, when you know, teenagers used to work at these resorts, college students should be able to do this stuff,” Governor Ron DeSantis said last week during a panel discussion with President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan.
Yes, Ron, those “millions of 14-year-old college students” would be the perfect solution for doing “this stuff.” We’re not sure what “this stuff” is, and we are sure DeSantis has no idea. Here’s a clue.
“This stuff” is the job that pays “dirt cheap” wages only undocumented aliens take because no one else will hire them — you know, the stoop labor in 100-degree heat, with no healthcare insurance, no school lunch, and few bathroom breaks.
Those would be great jobs for our 14-year-old children. Right?
The governor said the state has taken several steps to crack down on the hiring of workers living in the country illegally, including enacting a state law that requires large companies to screen workers through E-Verify, a federal database that confirms an employee’s citizenship status.
And why, Ron, do you want to “crack down” on those workers? You acknowledge that they aren’t taking jobs away from documented workers. That’s why there is a labor shortage. And statistics show that they are less likely to commit crimes than citizens.
So, other than pure bigotry, what’s your excuse for your mean-spirited cruelty? Got it. Pure bigotry it is.
“Yes, we had people that left because of those rules, but you’ve also been able to hire other people. And what’s wrong with expecting our young people to be working part-time now? I mean, that’s how it used to be when I was growing up,” DeSantis said.
Yes, Ron, when you were growing up, kids did all sorts of lousy jobs rather than go to school. That is why today, even states that come in 42nd among 50, have child labor laws.
Will someone please explain to DeSantis why we have child labor laws in the first place?
Low wage, child labor: The perfect Republican solution to the labor shortage the Republicans created.
In Tallahassee state lawmakers may remove all limitations on how late and how much 16- and 17-year-olds can work and end those teenage workers’ guarantee of a meal break.
And isn’t it nice that those kids never will join a union, much less form one?
This year’s bill is sponsored by Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa.
He did not return multiple calls for comment about the bill and why he thought it was necessary.
Pols love all the media exposure they can get, so when they refuse to return calls, you can be sure they are hiding something — like making children into low-paid slaves.
As it stands now in Florida, teenagers aged 16 and 17 can’t work before 6:30 a.m. or after 11 p.m. on a school day and can’t work during school hours unless they are in a career education program.
They also are limited to up to 30 hours a week of work when school is in session, unless their parent or a school superintendent waives that restriction.
The risk is that young workers will have fewer protections and will have a harder time saying no to employers, said Nina Mast, an analyst with the Economic Policy Institute.
“The teens who will be most harmed by this bill are low-income young people or those without documented status who are compelled by their situation to work,” Mast said.
Companies across the United States, regardless of existing labor laws, have employed migrant children in dangerous jobs, reports have shown.
Forget school. Teach them “skills.”
In January, meatpackers Perdue Farms and JBS agreed to pay a combined $8 million after the Department of Labor found the companies relied on the labor of migrant children in their slaughterhouses.
Mast said bills like the one Florida is considering are “essentially trying to legalize violations that employers are already committing.”
In typical Republican fashion, business is considered far more important than the lives of children.
The pseudo-exception is what the GOP considers “woke” and porn. With anti-“woke” laws, the children are protected from learning history, and with anti-porn laws, the children are protected from seeing what is widely available on the web.
The book-banning is right-wing showmanship, as are the deportations. Those, along with anti-abortion laws, comprise the right-wing “reward-the-rich, punish-the-rest” system of governing.
The number of child labor violations in Florida tripled from 95 in 2019 to 281 three years later, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics cited by the Florida Policy Institute.
In 2023, violations dropped to 209 but were still high compared to previous years.
Should we expect that under Trump, Musk, and DeSantis, those statistics will be hidden and never gathered again?
Florida’s child labor law provides additional protections beyond what the federal Fair Labor Standards Act imposed in 1938. But Collins’ bill would move Florida closer to the baseline federal standard.
Under this year’s proposal, 14- and 15-year-olds would be able to work longer hours if they have graduated high school or have a GED, if they have an exemption from the school superintendent or if they are home-schooled or virtually schooled.
Does this satisfy any moral human being: 14- and 15-year olds, who should be in school, instead will work longer hours for “dirt cheap” low pay? Is that what a 1st world nation strives for? Is that how we “make America great, again”?
Without proper schooling, he’s doomed to a low-wage future.
Alexis Tsoukalas, a labor expert with the left-leaning Florida Policy Institute, said the bill’s proposals are “being shortsighted versus thinking long term.”
Tsoukalas said research shows that when adolescents work more than 20 hours a week, they’re at a greater risk of dropping out of high school or having a poorer performance in school.
Does that come as a surprise to anyone? Is it acceptable?
“In the short term, yeah they might make some extra money, but in the long term it hurts them more in the labor market because they don’t have the education,” Tsoukalas said.
Tsoukalas said even if a teenager isn’t working in a hazardous job, working longer hours puts them more at risk of accident or injury.
Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, said that while he supports students working part-time jobs, he believes the bill being proposed this year “exploits students and potentially affects their well-being in school.”
Far be it from a conservative to exploit students, and Trump University demonstrated.
Beyond that, Jones worries that Republicans are looking to young workers to address potential shortfalls in the workforce as Trump promises to deport millions of immigrants who are in the country illegally.
America’s future labor force after the adult immigrants are gone.
“Let’s not look to our students to fix the problem that President Donald Trump and the Republicans have caused,” Jones said.
“Lowering the working age is not the key to filling the gap in our workforce — the key is fixing our broken immigration system, and that does not include Florida or the United States using inhumane tactics for political gain.”
Collins’ bill closely mirrors the proposal that failed to pass the Legislature last year after facing public backlash from critics who worried that letting teenagers work longer hours during the school year would impact their health and education.
Last year’s bill was sponsored by Rep. Linda Chaney, R-St. Pete Beach.
Last year, Chaney’s bill was filed after the conservative advocacy group Foundation for Government Accountability passed the draft to her office.
The group has pushed for rollbacks of child labor laws in other states, as well.
Records show that Chaney’s office asked the foundation for talking points on the bill. The group responded by saying the changes would help teenagers learn skills and the value of the dollar.
There you have it. Keep ’em poor to teach them the value of a dollar because poor people understand the value of a dollar. And teach them skills like picking lettuce, mopping floors, and asking, “Will you have fries with that?”
“Make America Great Again”?? More like, “Make America Dark Ages Again By Making the Rich Richer and the Poor Poorer.”
The reposted article asserts that when judges act beyond their constitutional limits by blocking executive actions “without legitimate constitutional grounds, they not only overstep their role but may also commit acts tantamount to treason and sedition.”
Impossible in America? It was impossible in Germany, until it wasn’t.
It continues, arguing that “activist judges” undermine judicial neutrality by assuming roles outside of interpreting the law.
“The U.S. legal system provides mechanisms to address such overreach, particularly under statutes concerning sedition and treason,” the article states.
Federal law defines sedition as conspiring to overthrow or delay the execution of U.S. law through force, while treason involves “levying war against [the United States], or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere.”
The punishment for treason can include death or at least five years in prison.
It is not clear whether that includes Trump/MAGA’s violent attempts to overturn an election or “only” judges who rule against him.
At a recent hearing, James Boasberg questioned the timing of the deportations, stating, “What’s concerning to me is why was this proclamation essentially signed in the dark on Friday or Friday night or early Saturday morning and then people were rushed onto planes.
It seems to me the only reason to do that is if you know it’s a problem and you want to get them out of the country.”
Following President Donald Trump’s call for Boasberg’s impeachment, Chief Justice John Roberts issued an unusual public rebuke. “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said.
“The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
“Normal” is not a word that describes the Trumpian form of government,
This clash is one of several in which Donald Trump has faced judicial resistance. The president’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, restrict transgender military service, and terminate tens of thousands of probationary federal workers have been challenged or blocked in court.
Most recently, a federal appeals court on Friday, March 21, declined to pause a lower court order requiring the administration to reinstate 25,000 laid-off employees from 18 federal agencies, a significant blow to Trump’s ongoing attempts to reshape the federal workforce.
The above article was not our first warning about Trump as the alter ego of Hitler. See also:
Now again, Trump warns us not to forget history and ignore the threat to democracy that Trumpism (aka fascism) poses.
The people of Germany denied the curse of an extreme right wing that knows no limits to cruelty, hatred, bigotry, and lawlessness. They paid a stiff price for their denials.
So far, immigrants, judges, the media, Muslims, Mexicans, law firms, schools, politicians, current and former allies, and democratic elections have felt the wrath of Trumpist hatred. Who will be next? You?
Even previously ardent Trumpers are not safe. Any deviation from Trump’s line (which changes at his whim, frequently and unexpectedly) will be punished harshly.
Boxcars filled with innocents are not out of the question for a mad king.
Donald Trump’s straw boss, Elon Musk, is proud of the number of people he has fired from the government. This noble feat was accomplished without the time-consuming burden of evaluating the qualifications of those he tossed out.
His actions required no brains or skill, two qualities not needed or wanted in the Trump administration. Seemingly, the salary savings alone are justification enough and damned be the repercussions.
For those who have managed companies without experiencing six bankruptcies or multiple fines and penalties, it is clear that losing valuable employees is detrimental to any organization.
Of course, Trump had a different experience: “Fail, fail, fail, then ask Daddy to bail me out.”
Sadly, there is no bailing out for the people damaged by Trump’s and Musk’s ignorance.
ANOTHER VIEWPOINT from the March 24 Sun Sentinel Let’s scrap science. What’s the worst that could happen?
By Logan Suits
In 1800, about 50% of all children born didn’t see their fifth birthday. Over 200 years of science and advancement later, that number is less than 1%. Science saves lives — which is why the attempts to cut it are so appalling.
Today, researchers are working hard in thousands of laboratories across the country. They’re working for you — so that next time you go to the doctor, your doctor will be able to help you.
Whether it’s new treatments for emerging infectious diseases or innovative ways to treat things that have ailed humans since the dawn of time — like cancer and heart disease — these researchers are working on finding answers to diseases that claim thousands of lives. Diseases that you might have one day.
Their work is in danger. Recent funding cuts have made labs across the country worried. The National Institutes of Health, which funds the majority of laboratories in universities, has recently made drastic changes to funding that will make it impossible for some labs to function.
Worse, scientists have been reporting that meetings to review their funding applications have been canceled, leaving their funding in limbo.
What would happen if we stopped this progress?
First, we’d stop going forward. We’ve made huge strides in important issues that we should keep making. Since 1990, recent medical advancements saved an estimated 200,000 children in the U.S. alone. There’s still more work to be done, though — child mortality remains higher in the U.S. than in other highly developed countries.
We need to keep moving forward.
Second, and perhaps worse, we’d start going backward. New strains of bacteria that are resistant to every drug we use to treat them (so-called “superbugs”) are becoming more and more prevalent.
Some scientists are worried that you could get a paper cut, the wound could get infected with resistant bacteria, and there’d be nothing a hospital could do to cure it.
We could be moving toward a world where a healthy adult could die from a scratch — just as it was before penicillin. Scientists estimate that by 2050, 39 million people will die from antibiotic resistant infection.
In this world that requires new medical solutions to difficult challenges, the United States could choose to be a leader. Becoming a leader in this is not the costly investment some believe. For every dollar invested in medical research, there is $1.24 saved in health care cost, and over two dollars of economic activity created.
Financial issues are always a concern, but failing to fund research means the government will pay more in health care cost and collect less in taxes.
Funding cuts to medical research aren’t just amoral for the lost lives; they also don’t make financial sense. With the broad funding cuts being considered, it’s important that we look back and see how things used to be, and how far medical science has taken us.
Research has been one of the best investments the United States has ever made, and we shouldn’t ever forget it.
Logan Suits is a Tampa native and a Ph.D. candidate studying antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus aureus.
Musk’s belief is that virtually all federal agencies are teeming with lazy, useless employees doing nothing but wasting taxpayer money. His “solution” is to randomly fire at least half the employees, regardless of their quality and accomplishments.
Thus, he was saved the effort of actually understanding what the agencies and their individual employees did. This approach, “if the horse is too slow, cut off two legs,” did nothing to improve efficiency. Quite the opposite, it guaranteed reduced efficiency.
What mayhave improved Twitter’s profits does not work with a federal agency that has no profit motive but rather a service motive. It has quite a different goal.
The idiocy of this juvenile approach is ignorantly:
Assuming random federal agencies must be inefficient, without any measure of “efficiency” for each agency. The measure will differ depending on the agency.
Assuming there is no difference between productive and non-productive people so, “Fire ’em all.”
Failing to install new systems that would improve efficiency, but rather, assuming that fewer employees will be more efficient.
Failing to set goals for the agency and the employees, so the efficiency can be measured.
Wrongly claiming that federal taxpayers will benefit from reduced federal spending. (In reality, federal taxpayers benefit when the government spends more- i.e., adds more growth dollars to the economy- than when the government spends less.
While they take billions from the federal government, Trump and Musk have caused irrecoverable damage to the economy, federal employees, and taxpayers.
Presumably, that was the plan all along, a plan to widen the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and the rest.
“It is absurd to say our country can issue bonds and cannot issue currency. Both are promises to pay, but one fattens the usurer, and the other helps the people.”
This quote reflects his critique of the financial system, emphasizing that issuing currency directly benefits the public, while issuing bonds primarily enriches the wealthy.
A Monetarily Sovereign nation’s economic health relies on the central government’s running deficits- large deficits- to pump growth dollars into the private sector.
The U.S. government does not need to borrow and, indeed, does not borrow.
#Monetary Sovereignty - Mitchell 