Doubling down on a plan that stirred controversy about his views on child labor, leading Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich said Thursday that poor kids who have no habit of earning money "unless it's illegal" should be put to work in their schools.I realize that many Right-wingers get mileage attacking the progressive laws of the first half of the 20th century, but child-labor laws have not lost favor. I suppose it operates as a measure to the base "punishing those shiftless young black kids" as they perceive them, but really pushing child labor?
What could be worse for an economy already struggling to create jobs than to have more of them sapped up by minors, let alone the moral question of it?
But this is Newt and as his many wives are his witness, he will not abandon such a swell sounding social policy -- especially a dickish one. And the Obama Administration could not be happier.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]