The Hidden Agenda Of The Labor Department Ban On Children Doing Chores On Farms

Unless Congress is able to step in, It appears that Hilda Solis' Department of Labor will issue new child labor rules that will effectively ban all farm children from doing any daily chores on their parent's farms.  The Labor Department claims that the ban is needed because the children are being injured in the process of these chores and they are being abused by having to work long hours.

While I can't address the "long hours" issue, I can say that accident statistic for children on farms is about 7 per 1000 farms per year.  By contrast, 1 in every 5 high school athletes will suffer a painful injury in all their years of sports participation.  So, the "accident" claim seems to be a canard.  And, if one claim is a canard, the other on "long hours" just may also be falsified.

For as long as there have been farms in America, parents have their children working on them.  It helps farmers lower operating costs and it teaches the children many valuable life and work ethic lessons.  Generally, it prepares children so they can eventually run the farm themselves.  Now, all of a sudden, the Obama Administration has decided to break that long tradition.

But, why now?  To me, the "real agenda" here is all about forcing farmers to hire more workers.  Hilda Solis knows that the work will have to be done by paid workers if the children are no longer involved. This means more jobs for both nationals as well as illegals.  However, it also means that the farmer's costs will go up.  Of course, with higher costs you get higher food prices.  For the working poor, that means even more food stamps. Lastly, it also means that some number of farms will go bankrupt because the higher costs will make them less able to operate profitably.

Update:  Apparently the political heat got too hot for Obama and the idiots at his Labor Department and the new rules on farm children have been dropped.  But, mark my words.  The rules haven't been actually dropped.  They've just been shelved.  I guarantee you that, if Obama is reelected and he no longer has anything to lose, those child labor rules will be reissued.