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Build Back Better (with child labour)
Back in the good old days American children didn’t sit around playing video games, making TikToks, and bingeing Netflix. They worked long hours in factories and sweatshops; they knew the value of hard graft. They didn’t take sick days either, they just died of diphtheria. It was a simpler time.
Some US politicians, it would seem, are trying their best to return the country to a golden era of loose labour laws. The Wisconsin senate recently approved a bill that expands the working day for minors, allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 11 pm on non-school nights. Must be fun being a child in Wisconsin! Not only do adults want to take away your free time, they also want to take away your free food. Over the summer school board members in the Waukesha school district made headlines after they voted to leave a federal free meals program because they worried it made it easy for families to “become spoiled” or develop an “addiction” to the service. Imagine if kids became addicted to the government ensuring they didn’t starve, eh? They might not be so keen to work for peanuts until 11 at night. Then you might have to start paying adults a living wage and the whole system would fall apart!
As I’m sure you are aware, the United States – along with much of the world – is facing a dramatic labour shortage amid what has been termed the Great Resignation. Earlier this month the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that an unprecedented 2.9% of the workforce, about 4.3 million people, quit their jobs in August. Republicans have been doing their best to starve people back into the low-paid jobs that keep the economy running by cutting off pandemic unemployment benefits, but that hasn’t immediately solved the issue. So some bright sparks have been turning to child labour instead. Over the summer New Jersey passed legislation temporarily increasing the number of hours that kids aged 16-18 are able to work. Meanwhile, fast-food chains across the US have ramped up their efforts to recruit kids. Last month a McDonald’s in Oregon sparked headlines after it put out a banner urging 14- and 15-year-olds to apply.
There’s obviously nothing wrong with teenagers getting summer jobs. But there is something very, very wrong with a system that would rather recruit more kids into the workforce instead of paying better wages and providing more benefits to adults. There’s something very wrong with a system where billionaires have seen their net worth balloon during the worst public health crisis in recent memory – and politicians seemingly have no desire to make them pay their fair share in taxes. There’s something very wrong with a system where minimum wage isn’t enough to afford a two-bedroom rental anywhere in the US. And, increasingly, people aren’t putting up with all this any more. They’re not swallowing the lie that if they just buckle down and work hard, they can achieve the American dream. They’re not quietly getting on with it, they’re organising: the past year has seen a wave of labour uprisings across America. Meanwhile, socialism (once an incredibly dirty word in the US) has been gaining popularity among young Americans. And that last bit should surprise no one. If politicians are trying to bring back child labour to plug labour shortages then I think it’s pretty clear that capitalism isn’t working.
Kellogg’s to give staff in the UK fertility, menopause and miscarriage leave
The company has said it is aiming to help staff feel “psychologically safe” at work. Not sure if that ethos extends to its employees in the US: 1,400 Kellogg’s workers recently went on strike to protest against poor working conditions.
Women are better investors than men
Women’s investment returns were 0.4% higher than men’s, according to Fidelity’s 2021 Women and Investing Study. While that’s not a huge difference, it’s just the latest study to show that women tend to be better with money than men. Women tend to hold their investments for longer and are less prone to panic selling.
Men are increasingly worried about their biological clocks
Sirin Kale profiles the men who are afraid they’ve left it too late to have kids.
US tech investor Joe Lonsdale thinks men who take paternity leave are losers
The multimillionaire venture capitalist tweeted that men with important jobs shouldn’t be taking extended time off to spend with their newborns. “In the old days men had babies and worked harder to provide for their future – that’s the correct masculine response,” he tweeted. The father-of-three has refused to apologize for his comments. Real men don’t apologize, doubling down on looking like an idiot is the correct masculine response!
Sexual misconduct complaint filed against Andrew Cuomo
The former New York governor continues his dramatic fall from grace. Still, things aren’t too bad for him: at least he has that $5.1m payout from his book on leadership to fall back on.
Polish parliament debates bill banning LGBTQ pride parades
Poland has become an increasingly hostile place for LGBTQ people in recent years.
US issues its first passport with ‘X’ gender designation
Study finds California condors can have ‘virgin births’
Researchers believe it is the first case of asexual reproduction in any avian species where the female had access to a mate.
Like every sensible millennial, I do not pick up my phone to unknown numbers under any circumstance. Nor, it seems, does a hiker who got lost in Colorado recently and repeatedly ignored phone calls from a search and rescue team because he didn’t recognize the number. I appreciate the dedication to avoiding spammers, but that was a very bad call.
TheShocker1119 on October 30th, 2021 at 16:29 UTC »
I worked at a local warehouse as a forklift operator working with heavy duty truck parts. On the board posted above where we clocked in I saw a letter stating they were now allowed to hire 15 yr. olds to do the same job as 8 older men on our late 20s, early 30s, and 40s were doing and this was almost a year ago. I said screw that and started looking elsewhere for work. I knew that it was meant to also devalue us and keep our wages low. Plus no 15 year old should start destroying their body pulling parts at a warehouse for 10+ hours. They should be enjoying life. That warehouse was a shitshow & a hazardous place to work in anyways.
FionnMacCoolie on October 30th, 2021 at 14:34 UTC »
This is at the core of why the wealthy don't like government. In their minds they fund all of government and it all goes to spoilt poors who can't afford it on their own.
If those poors take too much of a liking to government and government services they are sure to keep voting for tax increases so that more services can be provided.
The wealthy would provide that the government do three basic things. Protect their wealth, promote their business interests, and protect them personally against their own actions.
It's amazing how this message is being parroted at school board meetings now and is taking food from kids mouths to protect the accumulated wealth of a few.
anxiouslybreathing on October 30th, 2021 at 14:08 UTC »
I’m on a road trip rn. I went to Burger King yesterday and they had to close the place down right after we ordered because there was only one employee on shift. He had to take orders and then go cook the food. It took way longer than normal and I didn’t mind one bit. If I had to eat the apples the I packed instead of fries I would not have cared a bit. I hope these workers keep quitting. Force a change.