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If we want to eat cheap American chicken, then we have to allow enough people to work in the chicken farms, wherever they may come from or what they look like or what language they speak.
Close the doors, and the chicken won't be cheap anymore, because no chicken ranch will grow more chicken than it can process.
So the price of chicken will go up. No chicken farmer wants to feed a chicken that won't make him a buck by never leaving the farm.
And that means all the cheap chicken will come from Mexico. It won't be as cheap, because it comes from Mexico, but it will still be cheaper than American chicken. If enough people want cheap chicken, then that means the American chicken farms will close up because no one wants to buy expensive American chicken.
And when the American farms close up, some smart Mexican chicken farmer will think- "Hey! I don't have to sell my chicken so cheap anymore! There's no American competition!" So the prices go up anyway in the end.
How many people do you know who have ever butchered a chicken in your life? How many folks do you know who are eager to go to work in a chicken house, butchering chickens, as a big upward career move?
I can do it. I've done it.
I grew up on a farm at a time when folks on farms still kept chickens and ate them after doing everything themselves. It isn't hard or complicated, but its nasty work any 10-year old can do. And doing a chicken once in a while isn't so bad, even though it is nasty. Home-grown lets you pick out the fattest one. Or the one who wants to peck a hole in your leg every time it sees you.
But I don't want to do it all day long, every day, day after day, year after year.
No thanks.
I would just as soon not have a life of daily chicken guts and feathers to look forward to. I can't even butcher one grown in my back yard where I live, because the city would make me get rid of a chicken coop.
But there are people out there, beyond our borders who would, willingly and happily. It sure beats anything they have now.
So it's our choice. Either pay more, kill 'em yourself, or allow someone else to do it for low wages. Which do you prefer?
I don't really understand what you're disagreeing with.
I'm talking about the product creation (farm labor and manufacturing, specifically), not workers at stores (although, yes, they would be paid fairly, too).
i guess i am more clarifying things than disagreeing. some jobs should get higher pay, others should not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevinm
Time to rent some equipment and join the 21st century.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jacqueg
Depends on the crop.
Crops like potatoes and grain are already harvested by machines, many of them "smart".
Total automation of other crops, especially fruit, is more problematic.
jacqueg is right, some crops are harvested either partially or fully by automation. some crops however must be harvested by hand other wise the crop is damaged and unusable.
You Republicans are going to need some Dramamine from spinning so wildly on this issue.
Who is "spinning"?
It's really quite simple. Honest farmers who use the agricultural guest worker visa (which has no caps on it) have no problems getting their crops picked. It's the sleazy farmers who refuse to use the visa program and instead opt for cheap, exploitable, illegal labor who have problems when the illegals freak out and scurry away. Those sleazy farmers reaped what they have sown.
So, what exactly, are you having trouble comprehending?
There is no problem. Everyone abides by the law and pays workers whatever the going lawful wage is. Let the fair market do the rest. See how easy that is?
If you can't hire at a rate, raise your rate. If you can't make money, tough.
ITYM, "raise your prices."
This also applies to customers - be ready to pay more.
Same if you don't like Chinese imports, expect to pay up.
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