Current Event Analysis

Unfortunately, child labor is still problem worldwide. Although America has found a way to control this problem within, there are still problems happening outside our door. Third world countries are struggling the most with eliminating child labor. Within two of the articles I read it revealed stories of young children who were trapped in Child Labor systems. One of the articles was expressed from the point of view of the father who expressed grateful and happy feelings when discussing his daughter working in a sweatshop. He says it is the only way the family is able to stay off the streets. This example shows why Child Labor has the possibility to be beneficial. Child labor is necessary because many poor families are found to look to the children for financial support. Without child labor there is a greater possibility for children to take on more dangerous work roles, such as prostitution. Taking away sweatshops and child labor would create a higher percent of people unemployed and worse off. Conversely, sweatshops and child labor are dangerous and strip people of their rights. An article told a story about a boy who felt stuck in the Child Labor system, “My identity has been taken by the company. I have no freedom to move to other places”. This shows how labor forces have become the boss of people’s lives. Companies have found a way to trick laborers into working for them, but backfire on them back stripping them from their identity. Working up to twenty hours a day for less than two dollars an hour under horrible conditions is immoral, even if it does help stabilize the economy. This is why people such as the government, parents, and children must do all they can to eliminate sweatshops and child labor. This elimination process states by spreading of awareness, criminalizing child labor and sweatshops, and creating an allegiance with other governments where this issue is apparent the world becomes closer to banning sweatshops and child labor. All over the world sweatshops as well as child labor still exist. Clearly the way sweatshops are run is immoral, but then what is the solution to this problem if sweatshops help to stabilize the economy? In places such as third world countries children know they have an option, “kids worked or they went hungry”. The key way to ban sweatshops and child labor is by eliminating this option. The first step in this process is stabilizing the economy. By stabilizing an economy before putting an end to sweatshops and child labor, America will help to stop the immoral acts of sweatshops without harming the financial status of the country. All over the world this has been tried to be done, but changing the economy is no easy task; the United States specifically knows first-hand how difficult this can be. When the United States was suffering from an economic crash during the Great Depression the workplace resulted to sweatshops and child labor. After the financial situation was more controlled, it was easier to stop the use of sweatshops and child labor. Today, the United States has made a strong effort to stop sweatshops as well as keep children in school instead of work. So far, within the United States this has been successful; however, outside the doors of the US countries struggle. Although the United States has decreased the amount of child labor and sweatshops it still continues to trade with other countries where these issues are apparent and common; therefore, the US is inadvertently supporting child labor and sweatshops. Sweatshops and child labor are horrifying concepts but there are some benefits to the issues. Now, the question is how does America continue to earn the benefits from sweatshops and child labor, but ban the immoral actions?