Are There Not Child Labor Laws in the U.S. Anymore?
What I don't get about all the jobs and employment arguments people have--is unemployment actually up or down, can overseas jobs actually come back or not, are newly created jobs good or bad, etc--is why is no one talking about the movement toward youth in the workforce? Music is already taken over by people who are just barely legal adults or aren't yet: Lorde, Ariana Grande, those four or five British guys that are super famous even though they're like 15 years too late to the boyband scene. The film industry is full of young stars: La La Land director Damien Chazelle is 32 years old, Lucas Hedges from Manchester by the Sea is 20, Meryl Streep is timeless--am I right everyone ever who would never dare point out that no matter what she does she automatically gets a nomination even though honestly anyone could play a role where you sing bad and people act like they're impressed. And not to mention the sneaker construction industry is just flooded with young talent: uh oh, who gets to point fingers at whom about priveledge now, every American!? No, you're right, your Tom's are totally a get-out-of-jail-free card, and guess what! That card comes with a free Uber ride, too! Good job, you!
But now local TV is taken over by kids? Isn't that what we invented YouTube and Vine for, so that kids could think they're famous while making a few hundred thousand dollars a year? Every time we put a kid on real TV, they're one step closer to being adult famous. But where are the labor laws? By that I don't mean like it's illegal, but like the laws of labor--what about paying your dues after you go to college and stuff and having to wait until you're like 30 to make it? You never hear about these kids going to work with their dad at the firm for a day then getting to be partner by the time they're 20. So why is that the case with all of these lucrative, super-important entertainment jobs? Do you think Al Roker got to be head weatherman by doing the weather as a kid? No, he did it by doing whatever Al Roker did. And that's how you earn a spot on morning talkshow TV. By something something something. That's what I'm trying to say here: who cares about entertainment stuff.