The silliest objection is that businesses “exploit” our children, handing them a pittance for their toil. No one expects schools to pay their students; the training kids receive is payment enough. Why hold firms to a higher standard? College students ferociously compete for unpaid internships because training is valuable compensation—and total compensation, not cash alone, is what counts.22 In any case, if the young were really grossly underpaid, employing them would be extraordinarily profitable—and thanks to competition, few business models stay extraordinarily profitable for long.
