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Prices will definitely go up, but that's been said all along. The Trump admin ignores it. But, I'm sure people won't mind paying more for food and tariffed products. They've got those tax cuts to cover the rising COL.
And even though the US wage has risen to $30k per year, no Americans want the jobs. What a shock!
It's happening in the UK too--Brexit.
Xenophobic countries will reap what they sow (no pun).
"...What of the much-discussed prospect of food rotting in the fields? “We’re not far off. I suspect that’ll definitely happen next year,” he says. Hardman reckons that growers are beginning to question their investment plans for 2018, fearing crops going unpicked, and says that large-scale growers might soon consider moving into central and eastern Europe, at which point those much-fetishised union jacks will start to disappear from strawberry punnets..."
Tariffs and other artificial upward pressure on prices leads inevitably to price controls. The economic equivalent of covering for a lie with another lie.
I don't refute that, but we are talking about seasonal pickers here.
Secondly, we can't argue both directions on this that they are both having a major impact on the farm labor force because of ICE fears but at the same time aren't a big part of it.
The Forbes article cites whiny millionaire farmers that have built their business on and around an illegal activity.
If the farms can't find a way to operate within the confines of the law, then they need to go away.
Never mind that undocumented Mexicans are reluctant to work in areas that ICE would see as a honeypot, even legal temporary feel an atmosphere of intimidation, and avoid such an area. To add to that, more Mexicans are going back to Mexico than coming to the USA.
So, is it any surprise that there is a shortage of those that pick our vegetables? Politics have real consequences, and one of them is higher food prices because of an asinine environment created by the Trump administration.
There are unlimited visas for legal, foreign crop pickers so why would there be a farm worker shortage? Even those who use illegal aliens (not undocumented) only pocket the profits from their cheap labor they pass little to nothing on to the consumer in lower prices. What they do pass on to the taxpayer are their enormous social costs. Also, only 2% of illegal aliens are picking crops anyway. No need to thank me for educating you.
Not to worry! No doubt, many Americans, including some on this forum that lack employment (as witnessed by their posting 300+ times per week), will head out to the fields, and gather up those vegetables.
It is as many have said: these illegals take jobs that Americans would gladly perform, given half a chance.
Picking crops for a living is not a career job for Americans, however there are unlimited visa for legal, foreign crop pickers so you were saying? Most illegal aliens have taken jobs that Americans have always done for a fair wage only 2% of illegal aliens are picking crops. Try again, big fail!
There are unlimited visas for legal, foreign crop pickers so why would there be a farm worker shortage? Even those who use illegal aliens (not undocumented) only pocket the profits from their cheap labor they pass little to nothing on to the consumer in lower prices. Also, only 2% of illegal aliens are picking crops anyway. No need to thank me for educating you.
One of them actually put out postings for "hard-working Americans" to pick fruit. Nobody showed.
Farm labor is excluded from the wage laws to which most employers have to adhere. If they did, it would lead to higher prices for consumers, reducing demand, and we'd still have a bunch of rotting crops.
Because a large percentage of the cited number of illegal immigrants are illegal because they overstayed one of these visas.
This is something that a bigger border wall will not solve.
A border will help deter those who aren't coming in on visas, duh. Visa over stayers is another issue that will have to be handled in a different way. Most illegals didn't come on a visa in the first place.
One of them actually put out postings for "hard-working Americans" to pick fruit. Nobody showed.
Farm labor is excluded from the wage laws to which most employers have to adhere. If they did, it would lead to higher prices for consumers, reducing demand, and we'd still have a bunch of rotting crops.
These are basic economic concepts.
Again, crop picking is not a career job for Americans and is only seasonal work that's why we have the unlimited visas for legal, foreign crop pickers so why do we need illegal aliens to pick crops? Again, those who use illegal labor are only pocketing the profits for themselves while they pass on their enormous social costs to the taxpayer. I love educating you people.
Article notes to attract workers that many farms are paying above minimum wage. Often those jobs used to be paid by production; the more you harvest, the better you get paid.
How is your grocery bill going to be affected by this? Who are you going to blame food inflation on? Especially since Trump wants to restrict imports from Mexico under NAFTA.
Unintended consequences?
Not all of the higher cost can be passed to consumers. Some of it will be, but I don’t mind paying 10 cents more for a tomato if it means that farm workers are treated like human beings instead of de-facto slaves.
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