JoB
Diana.
now.. just what is it you have against the underground economy that you would frighten kids who want to do yard work with city hall?
the underground economy has always been part of our culture. every time you pass along the zucchini that overproduced in your yard and get back the tomatoes that overproduced in the neighbor’s yard.. you participate in the underground economy.
Did you never get yard work or babysitting jobs or pet walking or car washing or house painting or…. jobs when you were a kid?
Traditionally, the process of neighbor kids helping out to earn spending money has taught them money management, created a work ethic and passed skills down to generation after generation… not to mention the mentoring that naturally occurs as you pass along those skills.
I will admit that there was time when the kid you hired was known to you from infancy.. but our mobile culture has made that less likely. Kids who need work and those who have work to be done are more likely to find each other via websites or posters these days.
Hiring neighborhood kids is an excellent way to build community.. i wish more people did.