Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A few years ago, I brought my family to a very large commercial orchard to pick fruits on a weekend day. Everything was nice and pleasant, and we all had a great time, until near the end of the trip we came across something that saddened me: in a far corner of the orchard, there were a few rows of trailers that houses many Mexican labors working there. Their living conditions looked horrible.
That made me thinking, these farm workers do the kind of jobs at a pay that no Americans would accept. We all like low prices at grocery stores to keep cost of living and inflation low, if these people are gone, why would everything just become great again?
Yes I think about this too. I voted for Trump knowing this. Just because illegal immigration keeps prices of groceries low, doesnt make it right to look the other way. The only winners here are the companies hiring the cheap illegal immigrants. We need to fix the system where the immigrants come here through proper channels, just like I did. No compliants at all about the lengthy vetting process I had to go through.
If Americans fail to do these jobs or there are more than enough of these jobs that require immigrants then increase labor/work visas & make sure they get rights & good living conditions like the rest of us. Trying to put a band aid on this situation & using illegals is not a long term solution. It creates lot of opportunities for abuse & the illegals cant even report it to the authorities for the fear of being caught by immigration services. This breeds lot of crime & human rights violations. No wonder the sanctuary cities like Chicago have such a high crime rate. Also, the illegals dont buy auto or health insurance so the citizens & legal migrants might be saving in groceries but paying heavily for insurance, healthcare & taxes to cover for them.
Yes I think about this too. I voted for Trump knowing this. Just because illegal immigration keeps prices of groceries low, doesnt make it right to turn the other way. The only winners here are the companies hiring the cheap illegal immigrants. We need to fix the system where the immigrants come here through proper channels, just like I did. No compliants at all about the lengthy vetting process I had to go through. If Americans fail to do these jobs or there are more than enough of these jobs that require immigrants then increase labor/work visas & make sure they get rights & good living conditions like the rest of us. Trying to put a band aid on this situation & using illegals is not a long term solution. It creates lot of opportunities for abuse & they cant even report it for the fear of being caught.
as a labor rep for 15 years, I can tell you what will happen is the mom and pop American farmers will be forced out of business (as so many have already) and multinational corporations will be growing EVEN MORE of our fruit and vegetables across our borders --
theres no way to FORCE cheap products to be produced by EXPENSIVE(comparatively speaking) labor--
its really a two way street-
the consumer has to demand it-- better wages and living conditions and be WILLING to PAY for a higher cost product-
Of course people would do those jobs. But the wages would go up due to less labor supply.
BTW, what percent of your grocery bill is farm labor wages? Probably less than 2%.
"The average American household spent $515 on fresh fruits and vegetables in 2014, and about 28 percent of that—around $137—went to produce farmers. The farmers paid about a third of that to workers, while the rest went to farm maintenance and other costs. At current wages, farmworkers’ annual share of each family’s grocery bill at $45—less than 10 percent."
But that $515 is a small part of your total grocery bill. My guess is less than 20%, which makes farm labor a tiny part of your total grocery bill. So the impact of eliminating illegal labor and replacing it with higher priced labor would not even be noticeable.
as a labor rep for 15 years, I can tell you what will happen is the mom and pop American farmers will be forced out of business (as so many have already) and multinational corporations will be growing EVEN MORE of our fruit and vegetables across our borders --
theres no way to FORCE cheap products to be produced by EXPENSIVE(comparatively speaking) labor--
its really a two way street-
the consumer has to demand it-- better wages and living conditions and be WILLING to PAY for a higher cost product-
look at Fair trade chocolates--
how many of us actually buy them?
I buy as much fair trade as I can find. Agave as an example. There's really so little being made available, especially here in CA where you'd think the liberal herd would be demanding it.
as a labor rep for 15 years, I can tell you what will happen is the mom and pop American farmers will be forced out of business (as so many have already) and multinational corporations will be growing EVEN MORE of our fruit and vegetables across our borders --
theres no way to FORCE cheap products to be produced by EXPENSIVE(comparatively speaking) labor--
its really a two way street-
the consumer has to demand it-- better wages and living conditions and be WILLING to PAY for a higher cost product-
Consumers will never demand higher wages. But if we eliminated all illegal labor, wages would go up.
Consumers have to have food. Farmers have to have labor to supply the consumer need for food. If we get the government out of the way and remove illegal labor, food prices, wages and farmers profit will reach a free market balance. That's how prices, profits and wages should be established.
Consumers will never demand higher wages. But if we eliminated all illegal labor, wages would go up.
Consumers have to have food. Farmers have to have labor to supply the consumer need for food. If we get the government out of the way and remove illegal labor, food prices, wages and farmers profit will reach a free market balance. That's how prices, profits and wages should be established.
have you checked the labels on your cheap fruit and veggies, meats, seafood lately?
Tomatoes grown in Guatemala, beef from Australia, shrimp from Vietnam--
how about that Arbys Special venison sandwich-- with deermeat from New Zealand!
Im not arguing against illegal labor,
(conversely I'm sure the average folks in Latin America aren't too happy about the drug trade down there either-- who is buying all that heroin and cocaine, do ya' think)
I just think its too simplistic that if you eliminate the illegals things will automatically get better for vast swathes of the rust belt--
there will have to be some Big Government intervention (ironically)...
to keep this back on Topic,
Americans won't work those farm labor jobs because they won't be there anymore, they will just get outsourced out of the country...
Last edited by CAjerseychick; 11-18-2016 at 12:48 PM..
Reason: more info
but its not an even playing field out there-- the local farmer is totally out competed against by these multinational conglomerate farming corporations who operate with impunity to pollute other countries water and lands and don't pay fair living wages to their workers--
Of course people would do those jobs. But the wages would go up due to less labor supply.
BTW, what percent of your grocery bill is farm labor wages? Probably less than 2%.
"The average American household spent $515 on fresh fruits and vegetables in 2014, and about 28 percent of that—around $137—went to produce farmers. The farmers paid about a third of that to workers, while the rest went to farm maintenance and other costs. At current wages, farmworkers’ annual share of each family’s grocery bill at $45—less than 10 percent."
But that $515 is a small part of your total grocery bill. My guess is less than 20%, which makes farm labor a tiny part of your total grocery bill. So the impact of eliminating illegal labor and replacing it with higher priced labor would not even be noticeable.
If farm wages went up-- so would be their share of your total grocery bill--
why do you think Healthcare costs are through the roof-
because the workers are paid fairly!
On the other hand- my home garden is still going strong- collards are performing nicely here in the PNW- and thats what I will continue to utilize...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
