The administration has progressed greatly (or come full circle) on unpaid internships. First they were interested in banning them. Then it was ok if they were “summer” only opportunities (when it was revealed they had unpaid interns). To now, having regular, run-of-the-mill positions within the State Department, according to USAJOBS.com recent posting. Normally this shouldn’t garner any attention, but it was President Obama himself who targeted unpaid internships in the private sector. Holding the predictable leftist philosophy that an unpaid internship is just another tool of greedy businesses to obtain free labor, the President’s intentions, and rhetoric, were absolutely clear. MSN Money called his initiative an “all-out war on unpaid internships”. Fox News covered the “crackdown” stating that the administration’s claims were that an unpaid internship is technically illegal unless it met certain educationally structured guidelines.
That was way back in 2010. Obviously, things change. We all know that. And that is precisely why the administration wasn’t sweating in 2012 when it was revealed that they too were now benefiting from the unpaid labor of internships. Undoubtedly, those programs reported by Townhall must’ve been properly structured to give the intern an educationally beneficial experience. But just to be safe, in case it really wasn’t properly structured according to the outlines they set in 2010, they justified the practice by calling them just “summer jobs”.
So then, what are these unpaid internships at the State Department in the middle of winter? Furthermore, the intern will have “Secret” clearance. What if this employee becomes disgruntled? After all, if this is not educationally structured the risk is multiplied that this intern could divulge state secrets.
Ameristroika 