[canistr]

While I agree in part that internships are generally a form of "charity" or public good that a company will provide in return for a small amount of work being completed, the case for $10/hour is still ridiculous in this day and age. And I'm not even getting into the discussion of minimum wage jobs.

[canttestthis]

But thats contradictory. If internships are a form of charity, or public good, then companies shouldn't have to pay interns at all. Its ridiculous that interns get _paid_ $10 and provide almost nothing to the company in return.

[canistr]

Not at all. Charity/public good doesn't imply free work. And it's still up to the company to provide work that generates value for themselves. It's not free on either part of the company or the intern.

I don't know what the case is in the US, but in Canada, the government does provide some taxable benefits to the company for hiring interns or people between 18-24. I don't know the specifics, but they do exist.