First-term state Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs, who sponsored the child labor measure and owns Smoothie King franchises across the Deep South, said he filed the bill in part because children want to work without having to take lunch breaks.
China's revolution could be summarized as a war against the landlords. America's revolution will be a war against the Franchise Owners.
They think they're doing kids a favor. It's why the narrative of lazy youth persists as it does. They won't reckon with the reality of children suffering and they have to believe that work is good for them.
Doesn't help that children are already treated like property and bargaining chips.