Unpaid Internships

I'll be honest. The whole notion of an unpaid internship never really made any sense to me. Why? Because if an employer operates within the strict guidelines of the law (unpaid interns cannot do any work that contributes to a company's operations, they can only shadow other employees and perform duties that don't have a business need), the result is really an academic setting similar to a vocational school. I don't know any vocational schools that are free so why should an internship be? Confused? Simple, the intern (or their school) should pay the employer. Yes, I know that this seems counterintuitive (not the first time I've heard that), but an employer that actually conforms to the law is providing an incredible value and service to the intern and should be compensated for it in some small meaningful way.