Rural Kids' Parents Angry About Labor Dept Rule Banning Farm Chores

[muffin]

http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/25/rural-kids-parents-angry-about-labor-dept-rule-banning-farm-chores/



A proposal from the Obama administration to prevent children from doing farm chores has drawn plenty of criticism from rural-district members of Congress. But now it’s attracting barbs from farm kids themselves.


The Department of Labor is poised to put the finishing touches on a rule that would apply child labor laws to children working on family farms, prohibiting them from performing a list of jobs on their own families’ land.


Under the rules, most children under 18 could no longer work “in the storing, marketing and transporting of farm product raw materials.”


“Prohibited places of employment,” a Department press release read, “would include country grain elevators, grain bins, silos, feed lots, stockyards, livestock exchanges and livestock auctions.”


The new regulations, first proposed (http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/whd/WHD20111250.htm) August 31 by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, would also revoke the government’s approval of safety training and certification taught by independent groups like 4-H (http://www.4-h.org/) and FFA (https://www.ffa.org/), replacing them instead with a 90-hour federal government training course.


Rossie Blinson, a 21-year-old college student from Buis Creek, N.C., told The Daily Caller that the federal government’s plan will do far more harm than good.


“The main concern I have is that it would prevent kids from doing 4-H and FFA projects if they’re not at their parents’ house,” said Blinson.


“I started showing sheep when I was four years old. I started with cattle around 8. It’s been very important. I learned a lot of responsibility being a farm kid.”


In Kansas, Cherokee County Farm Bureau president Jeff Clark was out in the field — literally on a tractor — when TheDC reached him. He said if Solis’s regulations are implemented, farming families’ labor losses from their children will only be part of the problem.


“What would be more of a blow,” he said, “is not teaching our kids the values of working on a farm.”


The Environmental Protection Agency reports that the average age of the American farmer is now over 50 (http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/ag101/demographics.html).


“Losing that work ethic — it’s so hard to pick this up later in life,” Clark said. “There’s other ways to learn how to farm, but it’s so hard. You can learn so much more working on the farm when you’re 12, 13, 14 years old.”


John Weber, 19, understands. The Minneapolis native grew up in suburbia and learned the livestock business working summers on his relatives’ farm.


He’s now a college Agriculture major.


“I started working on my grandparent’s and uncle’s farms for a couple of weeks in the summer when I was 12,” Weber told TheDC. “I started spending full summers there when I was 13.”


“The work ethic is a huge part of it. It gave me a lot of direction and opportunity in my life. If they do this it will prevent a lot of interest in agriculture. It’s harder to get a 16 year-old interested in farming than a 12 year old.”


Weber is also a small businessman. In high school, he said, he took out a loan and bought a few steers to raise for income. “Under these regulations,” he explained, “I wouldn’t be allowed to do that.”


In February the Labor Department seemingly backed away from what many had called an unrealistic reach into farmers’ families, reopening the public comment period on a section of the regulations designed to give parents an exemption for their own children.


But U.S. farmers’ largest trade group is unimpressed.


“American Farm Bureau does not view that as a victory,” said Kristi Boswell, a labor specialist with the American Farm Bureau Federation. “It’s a misconception that they have backed off on the parental exemption.”

[milehi]

Why bother with real farming when you can sit in a corner playing Farmville, or whatever the fuck it's called.

[mick silver]

what a f up world are leaders are making for us all .............................. this will not stop the people i know out here in the country , it part of life here for the kids to help around the farms . real men dont let others tell them how to live

[Down1]

Crush, Kill, Destroy !
That's all these freaks do.

Another one who has a tax paying problem.
http://ronideutch.blogspot.com/2009/02/labor-secretary-nominee-has-tax.html

[Libertytree]

Congressman and 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul issued the following statement regarding the Department of Labor's new regulations applying child labor laws to family farms.

Below find comments from Congressman Paul:

"The Department of Labor's plan to issue new regulations applying child labor laws to family farms is an outrageous assault on America's farmers. My parents were dairy farmers who required me and my brothers to help out on the farm. I certainly benefited from this experience, and, as a Representative of a congressional district containing a large number of farmers, I have had the opportunity to meet many farmers who learned about their profession by doing chores on their parents' farms. Working on a family farm also provides a tremendous opportunity to form a strong work ethic that these children will carry through the rest of their lives.

“Thanks to the Obama Administration, future generations of children will be deprived of these experiences.

“Now that the federal government is planning to, for all intents and purposes, outlaw chores on the farm, I wonder when the Department of Labor will forbid parents from requiring children to make their beds, clean their rooms, or set the table for dinner. The founding fathers would be outraged to see the federal government attempting to prevent children from helping their parents on their farms. If the American people select me as their next President, I will put an end to these regulations on my first day in office.

“Under my ‘Plan to Restore America,’ I will use my constitutional authority as President to impose a moratorium on any new federal regulations. My Plan also reduces spending by $1 trillion in the first year of my presidency and balances the budget by my third year, while providing much-needed tax relief to the American people. This will put more money back in the pockets of hard-working Americans, like those who provide vital goods by running family farms.

“Out of all the candidates seeking the presidential nomination of a major party, I am the only one with a record of consistently opposing all unconstitutional, job-destroying regulations. I urge all Americans who wish to free their businesses and their families from the grip of the regulatory state to join my campaign to Restore America Now.”

http://exm.nr/IHU7OA

[chad]

there goes my entire childhood (except for saturday nights when i was driving around in a camaro drinking mad dog 20/20).

[Uncle Salty]

Another attempt to kill the family farmer and make the world safe for the Monsantos of the world.

[Old Herb Lady]

All the Amish kids around here wouldn't know what to do !

[gunDriller]

the Sovietization of America continues.

administered largely by the same ethnic group that managed the Soviet experiment.


notice that when the Soviet Empire broke up, the valuable pieces were largely given to Jewish Russians. i sense an organized crime connection.

it reminds me of how in the post 9-11 Silicon Valley, the valuable pieces ended up in the hands of Jews - Jewish venture capital financing Jewish techies.

[Libertytree]

Let's be realistic, this crap ain't ever gonna fly, well...I ain't gonna say never but can you imagine the showdown? I don't think the feds want a piece of that can of opened worms. I will probably be dead wrong and dead if this comes to pass, cause yaw'll know where I'll be.

[Osiris]

They can't stand even partial self sufficiency. These are the articles I read and say "we are so f'd"

[palani]

Applies to children with birth certificates. You know you cannot use others slaves without requesting permission first.

[osoab]

Crush, Kill, Destroy !
That's all these freaks do.

Another one who has a tax paying problem.
http://ronideutch.blogspot.com/2009/02/labor-secretary-nominee-has-tax.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z71iqDfeXrg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z71iqDfeXrg

[Osiris]

http://www.nationalgrange.org/2012/02/national-grange-applauds-dept-of-labor-for-withdrawing-unnecessary-youth-farm-labor-regulations/

[Cebu_4_2]

Labor Department backs off new limits on child labor on farms

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Under heavy pressure from farm groups, the Obama administration said Thursday it would drop an unpopular plan to prevent children from doing hazardous work on farms owned by anyone other than their parents.

The Labor Department said it is withdrawing proposed rules that would ban children younger than 16 from using most power-driven farm equipment, including tractors. The rules also would prevent those younger than 18 from working in feed lots, grain bins and stockyards.

While labor officials said their goal was to reduce the fatality rate for child farm workers, the proposal had become a popular political target for Republicans who called it an impractical, heavy-handed regulation that ignored the reality of small farms.

"It's good the Labor Department rethought the ridiculous regulations it was going to stick on farmers and their families," said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. "To even propose such regulations defies common sense, and shows a real lack of understanding as to how the family farm works."

Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/labor-department-backs-off-new-limits-on-child-labor-on/article_ccccc16d-99b9-59d1-a68b-9df6a3e06537.html

[MAGNES]

Total MO of Marxists, war on the family, war on farmers,
the gov is full of dumb useless stooges implementing policies.

Notice they backed down.

They implement or attempt to implement and back down.

They are monitoring reactions as well.

They just did that with the new internet bill, backed down,
then came up with a new one that is worse, who is writing all
this crap ? They got bills on the burner already written waiting.
Like Patriot Act, it was already written before 9/11.

Excellent article with good points.
Children | Farm Labor | Regulations | Withdrawal | The Daily Caller (http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/26/amid-nationwide-outcry-labor-dept-withdraws-farm-child-labor-rule/)

[palani]

who is writing all this crap ?

West Publishing.

[MAGNES]

West Publishing.

Sorry Palani, wrong answer, some clues above were given, especially gunDriller.

NKVD Bolsheviks is the right answer.
http://gold-silver.us/forum/showthread.php?60694-tsa-agents-now-on-buses-in-houston-conducting-warrantless-searches-amp-arresting-people&p=537392&viewfull=1#post537392

[palani]

Bolsheviks is the right answer.

Bolsheviks in Minnesota? It is a liberal state but too frigid for Dr Zhivago.

[Cebu_4_2]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014108117


Midlands Democrats, GOP unite to send farm bill forward (corrected)

Last edited Fri Apr 27, 2012, 06:54 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1) (http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=thread&address=1014108117&info=1#edits)
Source: Omaha World Herald

By Joseph Morton

WASHINGTON — It's not often that the ideologically diverse group of Nebraska and Iowa U.S. senators back the same policy approach.

But in an illustration of the old adage that farm politics are more regional than partisan, the four joined together Thursday to help the Senate Agriculture Committee send a farm bill forward.

Committee approval came despite opposition from southern Republicans who say the bill would leave their rice and peanut growers without an adequate safety net, and one Democrat from New York with concerns about cuts to nutrition assistance, more commonly referred to as food stamps.

At the heart of the bill are changes to federal crop subsidy programs. The bill would end direct payments, subsidies that go to farmers based on historical production without regard to current prices or yields.

FULL story at link.



Read more: http://www.omaha.com/article/20120426/NEWS01/704279945#midlands-democrats-gop-unite-to-send-farm-bill-forward

[Cebu_4_2]

And now that article is linked to this:

Labor Department backs off new limits on child labor on farms

Child labor groups upset farm rules were dropped


[/URL] [URL="http://billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/live/#"]20 (http://billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/live/#)

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14 hours ago • Associated Press (http://billingsgazette.com/search/?l=50&sd=desc&s=start_time&f=html&byline=Associated%20Press)
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WASHINGTON — 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.
Reid Maki, coordinator of the Child Labor Coalition, said the Labor Department's sudden decision late Thursday to withdraw the proposed rules means more children will die in farm accidents that could have been prevented.
"There was tremendous heat, and I don't think it helped that it was an election year," Maki said. "A lot of conservatives made a lot of political hay out of this issue."
The goal was to protect children who are four times more likely to be killed while performing farm work than those in all other industries combined.
But the proposal was routinely mocked in rural states like Kansas and Montana where farmers often have their kids do chores that can include operating heavy equipment.
Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., vowed to defund any attempt by the Labor Department to crack down on children doing family farm work.
Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, D-Mont., backed a bill to prevent new child labor rules from being enacted.
Tester pledged to "fight any measure that threatens that heritage and our rural way of life."
All three Treasure State lawmakers grew up doing farm work.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said the rules would threaten a way of life, even preventing kids from operating a battery-powered screwdriver or a pressurized garden hose.
"Those regulations were very specific, things that seemed very lacking in common sense and in many ways just crazy," Moran told reporters Friday at a news conference in Topeka, Kan.
While the Labor Department repeatedly denied it would go that far, officials promised three months ago to modify the plan in a bid to mollify opponents. The agency made clear it would exempt children who worked on farms owned or operated by their parents, even if the ownership was part of a complex partnership or corporate agreement.
That didn't appease groups like the American Farm Bureau Federation that complained the new prohibitions would upset traditions in which many children work on farms owned by uncles, grandparents and other relatives to reduce costs and learn how a farm operates.
The Labor Department said it withdrew the proposal in response to thousands of comments that expressed concern about the impact of the changes on small, family-owned farms.
"To be clear, this regulation will not be pursued for the duration of the Obama administration," the agency said.
Instead, the agency said it would work with rural stakeholders, including the Farm Bureau, the National Farmers Union and 4-H to develop an educational program to reduce accidents to young workers.
"They came under incredible pressure, and they caved to that pressure," said Zama Coursen-Neff, deputy children's rights director for Human Rights Watch.
Coursen-Neff said the public debate over the rules focused too much on family farms when it should have been about the real victims — poor Hispanic kids who do seasonal or migrant farm work and are sickened by toxic pesticides, suffocated in grain elevators or maimed by heavy farm machinery.
And many opponents didn't seem to care if they misrepresented the rule to make a political point.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin posted a message on her Facebook page Wednesday titled, "If I wanted America to fail, I'd ban kids from farm work." She called the plan "more overreach of the federal government with many negative consequences."
In fact, the rules would not have banned kids from all farm work, but child advocacy groups say that's the kind of misinformation they struggled to refute.
"Some of these conservatives knew they were exaggerating the scope of the rules and creating unnecessary fear about them, but they were fine with that," Maki said.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said the government should not shirk its duty to keep working children safe.
"I am disappointed that the administration chose to walk away from regulations that were, at their core, about protecting children and which could have been revised to correct some of the initial proposals that generated the most concern," Harkin said.
The government estimates over 300,000 children under 18 work on farms, but that figure is likely higher because it doesn't include children who work for farm labor contractors.
Of the 16 children under the age of 16 who died from work-related injuries in 2010, 12 were in agriculture, according to Human Rights Watch.

[MNeagle]

Of the 16 children under the age of 16 who died from work-related injuries in 2010, 12 were in agriculture, according to Human Rights Watch.

And please tell me, how many children died via big pharma, medical, etc.?

[Cebu_4_2]

And please tell me, how many children died via big pharma, medical, etc.?

You mean the institutionalized test subjects or the ones in the grand experiment known as ADHD/Depression/etc?