Immigrant Round-ups Lead to Worker Shortages in Florida, Now MAGA Wants to Bring Back Child Labor

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Florida is facing a shortage of workers like these because of MAGA anti-immigrant policies, now they want to loosen the state’s child labor laws

WESH: Child labor protections could soon be rolled back in Florida as lawmakers advance a controversial bill. This comes a year after lawmakers relaxed the state’s child labor laws.

On Tuesday, a divided Florida Senate panel gave initial approval to a measure that would further roll back work restrictions for kids as young as 14. The proposal, which builds on the 2024 law, sparked heated debate, with critics of the plan saying it would lead to exploitation of children and proponents calling it a “parental rights” issue.

The bill (SB 918) would do away with restrictions on 16- and 17-year-olds, who would be able to work more than eight hours a day on school nights and over 30 hours a week while school is in session, without mandated breaks.

Trumponomics Already Taking Toll on U.S. Economy

Buck Banks

From the New York Times:

“The United States economy is starting to show signs of strain as President Trump’s abrupt moves to shrink federal spending, lay off government workers and impose tariffs on America’s largest trading partners rattle businesses and reverberate across states and cities.”

“Funding freezes and firings of federal workers combined with the prospect of costly trade wars are souring consumer sentiment, raising inflation expectations and stalling business investment plans, according to recent economic surveys.”

“Local economies are also bracing for a sudden withdrawal of fiscal support, forcing officials to contemplate tax increases or municipal bond offerings to stabilize their budgets. While Mr. Trump has acknowledged that his policies could bring some initial pain, the early warning signs suggest that his blunt approach could come with more ominous risks to the economy.”

What Federal Employee Marjorie Taylor Greene Did Last Week

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President Elon Musk sent out a not-human-resources-approved email to hundreds of thousands of federal employees last week:

“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk wrote on X, which he owns. The post ends: “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

Federal employee Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) provided the following bullet points to DOGE:

Dear Leader Musk, in the past week, acting in my capacity as a federal employee:

  • I trashed federal workers at a congressional hearing, stating that none of them “deserve” paychecks. I quote myself: “The bureaucracy is not a business. Those are not real jobs producing federal revenue. By the way, they’re consuming taxpayer dollars. Those jobs are paid for by the American tax people who work real jobs, earn real income, pay federal taxes, and then pay these federal employees. Federal employees do not deserve their jobs. Federal employees do not deserve their paychecks.”
  • I came under fire by my congressional colleagues after it emerged I purchased between $4,000 and $60,000 worth of Tesla stock on January 8 after I was selected to chair the House Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee.
  • I defended President Trump after my Democratic colleague Rep. Melanie Stansbury referred to Donald Trump as a “king” Wednesday. Stansbury said, “Let me say this to you, Mr. Trump. Two hundred fifty years ago, the people of this great nation rejected a reckless, abusive king, and we won’t go back.” So I said, after recognizing myself for closing remarks, “Threats against the president of the United States will not be tolerated by anyone.”
  • I helpfully showed the Congressional calendar to constituents on X: “This is our House calendar for 2025. Yellow is our in session weeks. Thought it would be good to share for anyone planning trips to visit your Representative.” Of course, people took it the wrong way: “So you rake in $174K a year, get top-tier healthcare, and play the stock market with insider tips, all for working eight days a month? Not bad. Maybe if you lived on minimum wage for a year, you’d finally get why folks are drowning while you all cash in.”
  • I did not update the calendar on my congressional website, which shows the last entry as a Town Hall in Dade County, Georgia, October 3, 2024, at 6 p.m.

POLLS: Pres. Musk Is Very Unpopular

Americans don't like his drastic, haphazard chainsaw cuts to their government

Jon Ponder

Based on newly released survey results, MAGA party leader Donald Trump, who lives and breathes polling, has reason to regret selling his presidency to billionaire South African immigrant Elon Musk. A series of polls marking the first full month of the Musk presidency reveals widespread public disfavor with the drug-addled unelected president:

  • A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Feb. 20, 2025, found Pres. Musk with a -16 approval: 55 percent unfavorable, 39 percent favorable.
  • The Pew Poll released Feb. 19 found Musk’s approval at -12: 54 percent unfavorable, 42 favorable.
  • The Economist/YouGov poll released Feb. 19 showed Musk in better shape with just a -6 approval: 49 percent unfavorable, 46 percent favorable.
  • In the latest Quinnipiac University poll, Musk’s role in government had a -12 approval rating: 54 percent approve, 42 percent disapprove.

The Economist/YouGov poll found that Musk’s drastic, haphazard chainsaw approach to downsizing the U.S. government by firing hundreds of thousands of federal workers has -17 approval: 51 percent disapprove, 34 percent approve.