George,

I am surprised that none of the responses to Prof. Stern's letter deal with the issue of wages paid to teenagers. Too many young people today are being exploited (at the expense of their one shot at getting a high-school education) by the mystique of working at one of our fast food emporia.

Ask any high school teacher how hard it is to get students to do home work when so many are working to support cars and other luxuries and haven't the time or energy to spend on schoolwork. Their classmates, who may not be working, also don't seem to want to do much if they are the only ones doing it. The jammed student parking lots at American high schools are a symbol of the success of McDonalds: cheap food for all of us, underwritten by cheap teenage labor.

Al Weed (electronic mail, July 8, 2001).