Leaving Blake Gilson’s highly questionable argument that child labor is "necessary" in his column "Child Labor is Not Exploitation" (Monday, Opinion) I have to take issue with his statement that "It’s easy to assume that since Americans have it easy, everyone else does too."
Let’s take a look at a few statistics that show the fallacy of his "since Americans have it easy" claim. According to the most recent data from the National Academy of Sciences, more than 36 million Americans live in poverty. That breaks down to 24.4 percent of African Americans, 22.5 percent of Hispanics and 8.2 percent of whites living in poverty. Here in Houston, 21 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s most recent figures state 3.5 million people per year experience homelessness and the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest figures reveal that 15 percent or more than 47 million Americans don’t have health insurance.
The CIA fact book shows 41 countries (out of 221 recognized countries) have a lower infant mortality rate than the U.S. I think Gilson would have a hard time convincing the millions living in poverty, homeless or without health insurance they "have it easy." Perhaps they can send their children overseas to get jobs since, according to Gilson, "child labor will benefit them."
Timothy J. O’Brien History Ph.D. student
