Beneath the smugness of Ron DeSantis, at Florida leading the nation in immigration enforcement lies something of a conundrum: how to fill the essential jobs of the scores of immigrant workers targeted for deportation.
The answer, according to Florida lawmakers, is the state’s schoolchildren, who as young as 14 could soon be allowed to work overnight shifts without a break – even on school nights.
A bill that progressed this week through the Republican-dominated state senate seeks to remove numerous existing protections for teenage workers, and allow them, in the Florida governor’s words, to step into the shoes of immigrants who supply Florida’s tourism and agriculture industries with “dirt cheap labor”.
“What’s wrong with expecting our young people to be working part-time now? That’s how it used to be when I was growing up,” DeSantis said at an immigration forum with Donald Trump’s “border czar”, Tom Homan, in Sarasota last week.
“Why do we say we need to import foreigners, even import them illegally, when teenagers used to work at these resorts, college students should be [doing] all this stuff.”
Unsurprisingly, the proposal has alarmed immigration advocates and watchdog groups concerned about child labor abuses and exploitation.
Turning minors into indentured servants to pay for their education
You must log in or # to comment.
I’m not calling for or encouraging residents to start mass killing FL state officials behind this. I’m telling you that this is where it’s headed and they think they’re safe. Lol.
Unfortunately the boomers populating Florida agree. They’ll often bring up how they had to do jobs at a young age and that it’s a travesty children can’t anymore.
They worked probably 4 hours a week in high school and made the equivalent to what I do in 3 days.
Minimum wage 50 years ago, when those people might’ve been working teenage jobs, would be 12.50 in today’s money, almost 50% higher than today. More when you account for housing and medical costs being disproportionate causes of inflation which teenagers don’t have to worry about.
Maybe the FL libs will stand outside government buildings with signs for a few hours, and you might get 1 (one)
, but I cannot confidently say that less than 50% will thank the state for teaching their children “the value of hard work” and demand to abolish the minimum age altogether.They’ll get paid a fair minimum wage though, right?
I mean at least they’ll get something out of this.
Yeah I don’t think Americans are doing anything about it any time soon
'm telling you that this is where it’s headed and they think they’re safe
I don’t see chuds doing this, they think its good that children work the night shift
to pay for their education
Except that the wages are so low and tuition so high that it doesn’t make a drop in the bucket, especially after rent and food, and you can’t focus on school if you’re working overnight shifts (ask this college dropout how he knows)
it’ll pay for the education of their employer’s child, which is as it should be.
why the hell are we educating the commoners anyway?
why the hell are we educating the commoners anyway?
We teach them to be just smart enough to run the machines and fill out the paperwork and they get an astronomical student debt that will discipline them for the rest of their working lives!That’s where it’s going, isn’t it…children will only be educated til the age of 10 or something again, won’t they?
Something tells me the kids don’t yearn for the orchards…
