Maine's Republican Governor Wants To Rescind Child Labor Laws

"Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) said Tuesday that state regulations governing child labor are hurting the state's economy, according to the Portland Press Herald. "We don't allow children to work until they're 16, but two years later, when they're 18, they can go to war and fight for us," LePage said at an agricultural trade show, according to the paper. "That's causing damage to our economy. I started working far earlier than that, and it didn't hurt me at all. There is nothing wrong with being a paperboy at 12 years old, or at a store sorting bottles at 12 years old." Easing restrictions on child labor -- which date back to 1847 in Maine -- instills a better work ethic among the state's children and provides a learning opportunity for those who may not be cut out for school, LePage argued." Niraj Chokshi in The Washington Post.