Stossel, you make tons of money and can afford to pay interns
Yesterday I blogged about the Feds’ new crack down on unpaid internships. It seems I may have broken the law because I get help from interns all the time. Today economist Don Boudreaux points out the hypocrisy of the regulators:
I urge this administration, which is ever-vigilant at protecting us from our irrational and helpless selves, also to prohibit young people from working as unpaid interns at not-for-profit outfits - such as political campaigns.
Indeed, Mr. Obama should not only apologize to the thousands of young, unpaid volunteers whom he exploited in 2008 for his own profit - namely, to win election to the highest pulpit in the land - he should also give to each and every one of them back pay (with interest)...
Our Father-in-Chief surely doesn't want history to remember him as a cruel exploiter.
Some of the commenters on my blog already seem to think I’m a cruel exploiter:
Rex:
Stossel, you make tons of money and can afford to pay interns minimum wage. News Corp. made $254 million last quarter and it can't afford to pay the people who work there? You're just cheap and want free labor. Please, tell us what you think of the 13th Amendment [abolishing slavery.]
But my college student interns love the work. They tell me they learn more from us than they did in college, and we don’t charge tuition. Can’t adults voluntarily choose to make whatever arrangements they like? Another blog reader had a good response to the “ slavery: line:
PZI:
The 13th Amendment prohibits slavery (ownership of a person) and "involuntary servitude." Now read the word "involuntary" over and over (and if necessary, over) again until you get it.
It is true, I (or Fox) could help interns even more by paying them, but it would mean less money for other things like filming stories.
The real problem is that when government forces companies to pay interns, companies will no longer take a chance on many of the interns they used to hire. That hurts real people.
Many blog readers had personal stories:
Maggie Hanson:
I have an unemployed friend trying to land work in a new field where she has no experience. She's up against experienced applicants. I suggested she offer her services for free as an intern for 3 months in exchange for learning on the job and a letter of recommendation. She told me she didn't think that was legal. I'm appalled to learn she is right! Yet how else is she going to get experience? She can't afford school. Internships are a free education.
Georgeor:
I had a longer term (4 semester) internship where I was essentially a teaching assistant at a local college. It helped me far more than many of the classes I took. It was a terrific experience that would have been absolutely impossible if it had been required that I would be paid.
PZI:
Adults enter into transactions voluntarily because those transactions are mutually beneficial. The government inserts itself to essentially decide whether it's "beneficial enough" for you. Personally, I feel qualified to make that determination for myself.
stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com |
