Hey, you know what business and government need less of right now? Young people willing to work for free, because that might actually develop their skills and free up some money to keep paid employees aboard or the business itself open. Let’s declare a war on internships.

The labor market is still in recession, but for younger workers it feels more like a depression. In the last year, the unemployment rate among workers age 20 to 24 has risen to almost 16%, and among teenagers to 26%.

You might therefore expect a federal effort to encourage employers to give unskilled youngsters a chance. You would be wrong. The feds have instead decided to launch a campaign to crack down on unpaid internships that regulators claim violate minimum-wage laws.

“If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law,” the Labor Department’s Nancy J. Leppink tells the New York Times.

Once again government shoves itself between the private matters of business and potential workers. Once again government interferes in the ability of a young person to develop skills and generally improve his resume.

It’s almost as if the goal of Washington is to keep young people away from opportunity within the private sector. You know, drive them into government service. Which would help explain why the Obama Administration also wants to provide school loan repayment benefits to young people who work for the government.