$18 an hour for seasonal farm work (Hayward, Tracy: mortgages, loans, good schools)

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

So it appears that you were paid at or around minimum wage (in 1968 it went from $1.30 to $1.60 per hour). It looks as if they're paid more now, but I agree that seasonal farm work must be horribly grueling work. The bending over part would kill your back, no matter what age one is.

Have you guys work during high school/ college days that led you to say to yourself "I better go get an education so I don't have to do this kind of jobs when I grow up?". Well, manual labor, back-breaking jobs is definitely one of them. There's a reason why they don't get paid higher wages - it's called a supply & demand. They are more people who are willing to take that job for a lower wage.

If you mandate a minimum wage of $15 an hour, do you think that will solve illegal immigration problems or worsen them? If I was a poor farmer in South America and I was told "hey they increased the minimum wage to $15 an hour, you'll make MORE money in America", would that not increase the temptation to come here?

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Maybe I'm older than you, or memory fades. But, here is a chart of US inflation annually, going back to 1929.

https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-infla...recast-3306093

In the 1970's, inflation was as high as 13.3%. And that was after the government temporarily got things under control by wage-price controls, which obviously didn't work.

Since NAFTA, the highest inflation year was during the bank crisis, and it got up to 4.1%.

So, no, things aren't as bad as they used to be.

Prices may be going up, which is normal, but not by leaps and bounds. On average, over the last ten years, probably closer to 2%.

But I'm not talking about prices generally. I'm talking about grocery prices. There's some kind of hidden inflation involved there, that no one's talking about. If car prices were growing at the same rate grocery prices have been, there would be massive public outcry and disruption. Again, if the money from the price hikes on food ISN"T going to farm workers, where is it going? It's not going to higher fuel/delivery costs, because that cost has been halved.

[JGC97]

Originally Posted by nmnita

regardless or what you were paid in the 60s. $18 an hour is a heck of a lot. Of course they work hard, who would want to earn a living that way, but if they are illegal what do they expect and if totally uneducated and untrained, that is their choice. I am glad you would rather spend your money on high priced produce but what about those who can not afford the higher prices? I guess they do not deserve to eat a healthy diet.

I never said people don't deserve to eat healthy and I'm not sure where you even get that from what I wrote. When you compare the median annual income from the late 60's to today, $18/hr wage isn't that high. Besides, the minimum wage right now in California is $10.50/hr. It's $13 in San Francisco, $12 in San Jose and $15 in LA. Cities where the COL is higher tend to pay more. Considering how back breaking field work is, maybe $18/hr isn't so high, after all.

And, as I stated previously, farm workers come here from other countries with a work visa, work til the end of the season and then return to their home country. This summer was especially hard for farmers to find workers as there wasn't the pool of workers that we've seen in prior years. The work is grueling but I'll bet you never did it. If you did, you might have have such an attitude about the money they receive.

Originally Posted by CA4Now

So it appears that you were paid at or around minimum wage (in 1968 it went from $1.30 to $1.60 per hour). It looks as if they're paid more now, but I agree that seasonal farm work must be horribly grueling work. The bending over part would kill your back, no matter what age one is.

Yes, around that time. I was a high school kid who wanted a summer job. Like many of us did. Jobs in agriculture weren't paid at the same rate as non labor jobs and when you're unskilled AND a teenager, you started at the bottom. I'm sure you recall that, back in that time, there weren't many jobs available for kids. We didn't have fast food joints on every corner. Many of my male friends worked in gas stations after school and on weekends. Some who came from farm and ranch families worked at home, helping their dad. Girls were doomed to baby sitting jobs unless they knew someone who could get them a job in one of the small businesses in town. The median annual income for adults was somewhere in the neighborhood of 7-8K a year. You could buy a decent house for under 20K and a new car for $2K. Sweet memories Different times, different jobs available.

I do appreciate that you understood what I meant about how exhausting and painful it was to work eight hours in the fields which is why I don't feel 18/hr is an exorbitant amount. That's all I meant. Never tried to say that people don't deserve to have healthy food available that they can afford to eat.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

Yes, around that time. I was a high school kid who wanted a summer job. Like many of us did. Jobs in agriculture weren't paid at the same rate as non labor jobs and when you're unskilled AND a teenager, you started at the bottom.

Yes, not to derail the thread but as Baby Boomers, there were more of us than were summer jobs available. We were lucky to get minimum wage summer jobs; otherwise, we were babysitting for 75 cents per hour!

[curiousgeorge5]

Not at all. Its simple supply and demand. California has fresh fruit harvest all year round now, they cant get enough people.errrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Why can't they get enough people? What happened to the migrant workers?

They didn't have fresh fruit year round before?

[curiousgeorge5]

So it appears that you were paid at or around minimum wage (in 1968 it went from $1.30 to $1.60 per hour).

According to an inflation calculator, $1.60 in '68 equals $11.50 now, FWIW.

[curiousgeorge5]

The median annual income for adults was somewhere in the neighborhood of 7-8K a year. You could buy a decent house for under 20K and a new car for $2K. Sweet memories

I guess you were referring to CA.

The quote means a house went for only 3 times a person gross income. Let's say a person had an income of 75K, which many Americans would see as good. 3 times that won't buy much of a house there.

[marcopolo666]

Originally Posted by GSR13

Which is on the whole a good thing, since it is a result of higher-paying jobs going to American citizens rather than underpaid illegals.

Really? Are *you* willing to work for $15 (or $18) an hour for back-breaking work? Yeah, I didn't think so. Me neither (but then, I'm an old fart with back issues).

'Americans' are not going to work their arses off for $15/hour. They are too damn lazy. (And my family has been here since the 1630s - well, parts of the family).

[Des-Lab]

Re: Inflation.

How about that scourge called "Shrinkflation"?

A box of cereal that may have cost $2.99 a year ago and costs $3.29 now, on paper, that doesn't look so bad.

Until you realize that the same box now contains five fewer ounces. But it allows-in a strictly academic legal sense-to say that inflation is minimal or low.

Look at the per ounce/pound/whatever unit of measure, and a whole different picture comes in. REAL inflation over the last 10-15 years when looked at that way is probably DOUBLE what it was in the 70's. It's just not as conspicuous.

[GSR13]

Originally Posted by marcopolo666

Really? Are *you* willing to work for $15 (or $18) an hour for back-breaking work? Yeah, I didn't think so. Me neither (but then, I'm an old fart with back issues).

'Americans' are not going to work their arses off for $15/hour. They are too damn lazy. (And my family has been here since the 1630s - well, parts of the family).

You're right, farming has never been an occupation in this country.