Child labor and the totally NOT evil United States

You may think that America's rolling back child labor laws would be embarrassing to the world, but you would be wrong.
America has been embarrassing when it comes to labor laws for a very long time.
All the way back in 1930 the U.S. joined Afghanistan as the only nations (plus a couple Pacific Islands) refusing to sign the treaty banning Forced Labor. Because forced labor is a popular position in some circles, I guess.

When it comes to the rights of workers America stands with such strong human rights nations such as China, Iran, Afghanistan, India, and Saudi Arabia, opposing the Freedom to Associate and Right to Organize and Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers.
America stood proudly with only Saudi Arabia and Mozambique opposing Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Even Saudi Arabia signed the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, but not Iran and the United States.
Only Morocco joined us in not ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child .
Only Japn and Malaysia and some Pacific Islands joined us in opposing Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation.

To sum this up.

In fact, the United States has one of the worst records of any country in ratifying human rights and environmental treaties...
The United States consistently prioritizes its perceived national interests over international cooperation, opting not to ratify to protect the rights of U.S. businesses or safeguard the government’s freedom to act on national security. Politics also poses a significant barrier to ratification. While presidents can sign treaties, ratification requires the approval of two-thirds of the Senate. Oftentimes, the power of special interest groups and the desire of politicians to maintain party power, on top of existing concerns of sovereignty, almost assures U.S. opposition to treaty ratification...
By refusing to ratify treaties the rest of the world supports, the United States can lose other countries’ trust and gives up the influence of shaping the future direction of global rules. Furthermore, abstaining serves as a barrier to resolving critical global and regional issues, implicitly giving permission to other countries to free ride and follow the rule of law established by treaties only when it is in their best interest.

Child Labor Cha-Cha

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mimi's picture

sorry ... need something more uplifting.

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are cheaper than adults citizens with rights
but goats and computers are still even cheaper
Wink

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