The "allowing" someone to work is not a problem, when that choice is made in a free and voluntary manner. Rather the fundamental problem is the economic feedbac

The "allowing" someone to work is not a problem, when that choice is made in a free and voluntary manner. Rather the fundamental problem is the economic feedback loop that gradually turns "allowed" into "required". Women entering the workforce was most certainly an advancement for freedom and equality. But as the labor and economic laws weren't adjusted to compensate, it did have the effect of making the standard of full time household employment jump from 40 hours a week to 80. Also there is a huge difference between a kid working with their family providing age-appropriate supervision (which can be done under the table regardless of this bill), and being left to the care of a stranger that's just following economic incentives. I could use most woodworking tools by age 12 under loose supervision, but that doesn't mean it would have been appropriate for me to work in a furniture shop. And I don't know if you could have picked a worse example than roofing. There's just a basic level of competence one needs to maintain on heights and slopes. And it's basically a recipe for chest-thumping foremen rejecting fall protection and shaming the underlings into doing the same. At least silicosis doesn't show up for decades, unlike a fall from height.