Child Labor Laws are Stupid?

Republican 2012 Presidential Candidate, Newt Gingrich, made an appearance at Harvard on Friday for a screening of his new documentary, “A City upon a Hill”, focused on American exceptionalism. Newt discussed poverty and a potential end to child labor laws stating, “It is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods, entrapping children in, first of all, child laws, which are truly stupid. Saying to people you shouldn’t go to work before you’re 14, 16. You’re totally poor, you’re in a school that’s failing with a teacher that’s failing. I tried for years to have a very simple model. These schools should get rid of unionized janitors, have one master janitor, pay local students to take care of the school. The kids would actually do work; they’d have cash; they’d have pride in the schools. They’d begin the process of rising. Go out and talk to people who are really successful in one generation. They all started their first job at 9 to 14 years of age. They are selling newspapers, going door to door, washing cars. They were all making money at a very young age. What do we say to poor kids in poor neighborhoods? Don’t do it. Remember all the stuff about not getting a hamburger-flipping job? Worst possible advice to give the poor children.”  

He went on to say, “You’re going to see from me extraordinarily radical proposals to fundamentally change the culture of poverty in America.”  This sentiment motivates his previous statement; he is trying to show voters not to expect more of the same in a time where many Americans are searching for economic reform.  But in the opinions of some, this does little to justify putting school-aged children to work.  

This statement does, however, provide many points of conversation. If a child is working short hours in the safety of their school, could that be a good thing for them? Would they learn a level of responsibility and of pride in their school and neighborhood? Would they be able to help provide a more stable and comfortable life for themselves and their families? Or is it too much too soon? Would we be robbing them of their youth? Would it cause lower rates of academic success? This is really great stuff to think about; maybe Gingrich is on to something.  He may not always say things with diplomacy and grace, but he throws out real food for thought. The only thing that’s certain is that Gingrich has opened Pandora’s box and no one has heard the last of this conversation.