Obama administration scraps plan to prevent some children from working in dangerous farm jobs

[Jenna]

The Obama administration's move to scrap a plan that would prevent some children from working in dangerous farm jobs drew sharp rebukes Friday from child welfare advocates who claim the president caved to election-year pressure from farmers and Republicans.

The Labor Department spent more than a year working on the proposal to ban children younger than 16 from using power-driven farm equipment - including tractors - and prevent those under 18 from working in grain silos, feed lots and stockyards.

Labor officials tried to avoid controversy by specifically excluding children who worked on their parents' farms. But the proposal became a popular political target for Republicans who called it an impractical, heavy-handed regulation that ignored the reality of small farms.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/27/444...#storylink=cpy

[Pinki]

Obama wants to destroy what is left of the American work ethic.

[cajunguy]

Obama wants to destroy what is left of the American work ethic.

. . . . along with everything else American.


.

[bayern]

Guess his kids can't pick beans in Michelle's Pea Patch behind the WH.

[Rhino]

I'm glad to see this move, even if it was an appeal to Republicans. I don't think Obama wants to destroy the work ethic. Quite the opposite. After all, From each according to his ability, to each according to his need...

[Jim1348]

I still remember my father teaching me to drive a Farmall H tractor to rake hay when I was 8 years old. I guess he was truly evil for teaching me to do that at such a young age. I was also pretty young when I learned to milk cows, fire a shotgun and rifle, ride a horse, use a chainsaw (oh the horror of it all). Now I am NOT going to get on my soapbox and say those aren't dangerous things. They are, or at least they can be, but I lived through it.

[Odd]

I still remember my father teaching me to drive a Farmall H tractor to rake hay when I was 8 years old.

Tell me, which is more dangerous. An eight year old with adult supervision being shown how to operate a potentially dangerous machine, or an 18 year old man child without any training or accountability being set free on the world? Which future adult is going to end up in the ER missing an arm after trimming the trees with a chainsaw duct taped to a broom handle? Which more likely to become a protective and responsible parent to future children?

I'm all for protecting children, but life is risky and part of that protection is introducing them to risk in a sensible way and teaching them to master it where possible. Coddling is at the far end of the spectrum from neglectful indifference, and yet has the same potential for long term harm. Where there is government interest it should be addressing abuse: beyond that left to the parents.

Or so it seems to me.