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I was lucky enough to be able to get a job at 16 (only one among my peers) around 2008. At the time, my boss there said "you're going to be the last generation

I was lucky enough to be able to get a job at 16 (only one among my peers) around 2008. At the time, my boss there said "you're going to be the last generation of teenagers in the US to have jobs". Boy was he wrong! > Federal laws prohibit children under 14 from working in most non-agriculture jobs. One of the weirdest things of these laws is that agricultural jobs... don't seem any less dangerous than any others?

lockhouse 4y ago
I don’t think danger was the main consideration here, but rather necessity. Agriculture is really labor intensive. This is also why children are out of school in the summer so they can help out with their family’s farm.
- Ancalagon 4y ago
  Also considered highly essential - really non-negotiable on an economics/government level - because most people need to, you know, eat.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    No one is going to starve if children cannot pick strawberries. The necessity here is for cheap food prices, which are politically popular. We care about child labor (and minimum wages), but only so much, so we exempt certain businesses. The fact that a lot of these agricultural jobs are done by minorities is also relevant.
    - Teever 4y ago
      Between something 30%+ food never making it to the table, Rising obesity rates, corn being used for Ethanol production, and the excessive consumption of beef and pork there's an incredible amount of surplus in our food supply chain.
      - j_walter 4y ago
        There is a potential for surplus in the food chain, but the logistics of transporting food from where it grows to where it is consumed leads to waste. The waste we have now may be considered low compared to a hundred years ago when we couldn't preserve food to last longer than a few days. Rising urban density leads to less room for food growing and more people to feed...think about NYC and where all the food must come from to support 20 million people every day.
    - Ancalagon 4y ago
      Sorry I wasn't arguing for child labor. I was just explaining why it was allowed in the past when family farms were more prevalent.
- DerekL 4y ago
  > This is also why children are out of school in the summer so they can help out with their family’s farm. This is a common myth. There's more work to do during the spring and fall than the summer. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/56901/why-do-students-get-summers https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/56901/why-do-students-ge... https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/debunking-myth-summer-vacation https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/debunking-myth-summer...

lockhouse 4y ago

I don’t think danger was the main consideration here, but rather necessity. Agriculture is really labor intensive. This is also why children are out of school in the summer so they can help out with their family’s farm.

Ancalagon 4y ago
Also considered highly essential - really non-negotiable on an economics/government level - because most people need to, you know, eat.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  No one is going to starve if children cannot pick strawberries. The necessity here is for cheap food prices, which are politically popular. We care about child labor (and minimum wages), but only so much, so we exempt certain businesses. The fact that a lot of these agricultural jobs are done by minorities is also relevant.
  - Teever 4y ago
    Between something 30%+ food never making it to the table, Rising obesity rates, corn being used for Ethanol production, and the excessive consumption of beef and pork there's an incredible amount of surplus in our food supply chain.
    - j_walter 4y ago
      There is a potential for surplus in the food chain, but the logistics of transporting food from where it grows to where it is consumed leads to waste. The waste we have now may be considered low compared to a hundred years ago when we couldn't preserve food to last longer than a few days. Rising urban density leads to less room for food growing and more people to feed...think about NYC and where all the food must come from to support 20 million people every day.
  - Ancalagon 4y ago
    Sorry I wasn't arguing for child labor. I was just explaining why it was allowed in the past when family farms were more prevalent.
DerekL 4y ago
> This is also why children are out of school in the summer so they can help out with their family’s farm. This is a common myth. There's more work to do during the spring and fall than the summer. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/56901/why-do-students-get-summers https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/56901/why-do-students-ge... https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/debunking-myth-summer-vacation https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/debunking-myth-summer...