Cheap Child Labor next after recent Tax Cut for the Wealthy in Wisconsin!

 So, we have to argue this, the Gilded Age, all over again...

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Keep in mind, this just happened. 

Three out of four of Wisconsin’s households will see less than $7 a week on average in additional cash.

The bulk of the benefits from the tax cut proposal will go to the wealthiest one-quarter of the state — people with incomes ranging from more than $80,000 to more than $1 million. For that group, the average tax savings would range from about $450 to $2,935 a year.

“We have this economic divide, and we’re doubling down by excluding people with low incomes from a huge tax cut,” says Tamarine Cornelius, an analyst for the Wisconsin Budget Project and Kids Forward, a policy organization that advocates for children and families.

Vos-Republican's eye Child Labor for the 21st Century: What a goal, huh?  

Under the bill, SB-332, Wisconsin employers that are exempt from the Federal Labor Standards Act could schedule teens younger than 16 to start work at 6 a.m. Those employers could schedule them until 9:30 p.m. if the next day is a school day, and until 11 p.m. if the next day is not a school day. The bill would also require that 14- and 15-year-old employees who work past 10 p.m. must have at least eight hours between shifts.

And China's nationalist tabloid The Global Times took note of this little story out of WI and couldn't wait to chime in...

Wisconsin Child Labor, and their often-repeated Lie, "Parents know what best for their kids Education:" Republican Gov. Scott Walker took office and immediately attacked child labor laws:

In 2011, Walker signed into law a provision in the 2011-13 state budget which eliminated restrictions on 16- and 17-year-olds working more than 26 hours during a school week and more than 50 hours a week during vacations.

Then, around May of 2017, Walker decided "parents DIDN'T know what's best for their kids education" when he told 16- and 17-year old's to ignore their parents, and go to work.

The GOP-controlled legislature has given final approval and sent to Republican Gov. Scott Walker a bill that would loosen child labor laws. Assembly Bill 25 removes the requirement for 16- and 17-year-olds to obtain permits signed by a parent or guardian in order to work. The measure was approved on a party line 20-12 vote. Democrats maintain the bill would allow children to make important life decisions that could adversely affect their educations — against their parents’ wishes.

Welcome back to those nostalgic days of pre-Depression labor.

I didn't even know these restrictions were lifted, as pointed out by Milwaukee Gazette:

The Child Labor Coalition said that change allowed employers to leverage cheap child labor to avoid paying a living wage.

“Research suggests that when teens work more than 20 hours a week, their grades go down, they drop out of school more often, and they have more behavioral issues,” said coalition coordinator Reid Maki of the 2011 law. 

A more nefarious reason for the law? The Wisconsin AFL-CIO explained:

Supporters of the bill claim that the signature requirement is a hurdle that keeps some kids out of the workforce. In reality, if no parent or guardian is available, a DWD officer can sign off for a child worker. These officers are funded by a $10 permit fee paid by the employer. A portion of the fee also goes to the state’s General Treasury. By eliminating this fee, Republicans are cutting funding for the enforcement of child labor laws and at a time when every penny counts needlessly reducing state revenue.

Just before passage, here's what legislators had to say, noting the bizarre Republican reason to bypass parents...

Rep. Amy Loudenbeck: "...what we're hearing from the kids...Jamial (inaudible) who was on the front page of the Journal Sentinel a couple of weeks ago, who scored a perfect 10 on the ACES...you know what, she falsified her parents signature on the work permit, got her first job at Goodwill and told us it was the best thing that happened to her..."

Now that uplifting story is something to base legislation on.

From the archives, here's that debate, arguing against parental control, the ones who know what's best for their kids.