The Best Life Lesson for a Teen Is a Job

By James Bovard

jobs for teens

During the Covid debacle, kids were locked out of school or otherwise condemned to an inferior Zoom education for up to two years. What were the alternatives? Unfortunately, since the New Deal, the federal government has severely restricted teenagers’ opportunities for gainful employment. But new evidence proves that keeping kids out of work doesn’t keep them out of mental health trouble.

Yet suggesting that kids take a job has become controversial in recent years. It is easy to find expert lists on the dangers of teenage employment. Evolve Treatment Center, a California therapy chain for teenagers, recently listed the possible “cons” of work:

  • Jobs can add stress to a child’s life.
  • Jobs can expose kids to people and situations they might not be ready for.
  • A teen working a job might feel like childhood is ending too soon.

But stress is a natural part of life. Dealing with strange characters or ornery bosses can speedily teach kids far more than they learn from a droning public school teacher. And the sooner childhood ends, the sooner young adults can experience independence – one of the great propellants of personal growth. Continue reading “The Best Life Lesson for a Teen Is a Job”

The Physics of Karma Transcends the Perfidy of Billionaires

By Doug “Uncola” Lynn via TheBurningPlatform.com

When I was in second grade, my class took a field trip whereby we walked through a cemetery and the county fairgrounds.  We were strongly advised not to throw rocks by our gym instructor who was assisting our teacher on the trip.  He was a large muscular man and had a Swedish-sounding name.  He said to us kids:  “Don’t even THINK about throwing any rocks!  If any of you do, you will be in big, big, BIG trouble!”

Well, he should have never given me the idea. Because while walking through the fairgrounds, there were so many metal roofs on the buildings.  So I picked up a round heavy stone and lobbed it as high as I could before it landed on what sounded like a giant cymbal.

“Who did that?!” screamed the teachers as over 20 tiny fingers pointed my way.  The big gym teacher suddenly loomed over me, blocking out the sun.  “Why did you do that?!” he asked me in a loud voice.

Of course, I had no answer for him other than “I don’t know” which I stated simply while squinting up at him.  But I remember the feeling very well.  Today, it would be summarized as:  “Because, F*CK you, that’s why”.

Thus began my life of crime.

Continue reading “The Physics of Karma Transcends the Perfidy of Billionaires”