Rules

"What are the rules that govern behavior of the targets in your issue? Are they good or bad rules? Do they accomplish their purpose? How can they be improved upon?"

Within government precise rules as well as rules of thumb are present in relation to child labor. Every government has specific laws, or precise rules, that are used to regulate the actions of the country's citizens. Most countries have laws against the use of child labor; yet, it continues in these countries everyday. Why is that? How is it that governments provide precise rules, but continue to see illegal actions take place? Is not the purpose of these precise rules to eliminate child labor practices?

Those citizens who "employ" children are fully aware of these laws, but choose to disregard them. In disregarding these laws, "employers" actively seek out underage workers who they can exploit for their own benefit. These "employers" simply see these children as a source of cheap labor, often only providing minimal amounts of food and shelter. These children are threatened, placed in unhealthy environments, abused, and told that they must repay the debt they continue to accumulate by being supplied with food and shelter. Yes, today's child laborers are subject to bondage slavery. How is the government allowing this to happen? Isn't government supposed to enforce its laws?
Those who write the laws are not those who enforce them. Those who enforce the laws are the officials, such as police officers. The officials are expected to make decisions based on the rules of thumb. Cases of child labor differ from each other. Many cases often include, but are not limited to, instances of human trafficking, violent abuse, hazardous environments, slander, physical labor (i.e. brick-laying, mining, agriculture), domestic work, and prostitution. With officers basing their decisions on rule of thumb, they are often easily bought into not doing anything in response to illegal use of child labor. "Employers" work hard to keep child laborers by keeping the children hidden, paying officers to not react, and even offering the officers sexual favors from the young girls (and occasionally boys). This is where the trouble with government lies. The officials who are to find these criminals fall short in doing their duty of protecting the rights of the children in that they willingly overlook the their treatment in order to gain some form of satisfaction. They let their desires fog their judgment, causing many children to remain working for their "employers".

On the other side of this policy issue, we see activists and interest groups utilizing vague rules to appeal to the general public and government officials. They use vague statements to promote the idea that no one other than the "employers" would be negatively affected by policy eliminating child labor. To gain support, these groups use numbers, emotional appeal (i.e. "Would you let this happen to your kids?!"), and facts to emphasize how great the issue is and simply state that children need to be removed from such situations and reintegrated into society. By being vague, they eliminate the primary instances of people quickly turning away with the notion that the cause would cost them much-- after all, not many people are immediately drawn to things that require them to give a lot of their money. Through the use of vague rules, activists are able to utilize their own talents as means to help these children. Some examples include Musicians raising money for rehabilitating children through concerts, writers telling the stories of the children, therapists providing treatment to the children, and lobbyists asserting their groups concern for the children. Vague rules open many possible actions that can be taken by individuals concerned with these children's welfare. Looking at all that vague rules enable activists to do, it is clear that this type of rule is beneficial in producing long-term results.

Those who make laws and those who enforce laws need to work more closely to ensure that officials are making ethical decisions. It is difficult to ensure that officers are acting appropriately in that they are expected to use good judgment in evaluating these "employers". With the power to arrest or receive favors, these officers are vulnerable to corruption which could lead them to go against their duty. This issue would need to be approached bottom-up in that the interest groups and activists would need to gain supporters, and they would need to convince government officials that policy change is absolutely necessary as well as that officers need to be re-evaluated in regards to ethical action.

VAGUE RULES would be the MOST BENEFICIAL.