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That’s because immigrant farmworkers in California’s agricultural heartlands are getting older and not being replaced. As others have mentioned it's all

That’s because immigrant farmworkers in California’s agricultural heartlands are getting older and not being replaced. As others have mentioned it's all to do with the wages that the fruit growers are willing to pay, and Driscoll's (mentioned in the article) have been at the center of controversy about their wages for some time for their practices in Mexico and elsewhere: https://boycott-driscolls.org/ https://boycott-driscolls.org/ The Union of Independent, National and Democratic Farmworkers (SINDJA) calls for all independent and autonomous boycott committees to unite for a global day of action on November 19th. We invite all families to support the International Boycott against Driscoll’s in solidarity with farmworkers in San Quintín, Mexico. In the US, when you sit down at your tables on Thanksgiving Day, we’re asking you to please think of the farmworkers in San Quintín, who work 12 to 15 hours a day for as little as 6 US dollars in take-home pay. Meanwhile, Driscoll’s is making multiple millions in profits. Robots for labor are coming, and when they do it is time to take agriculturally productive land away from the profiteers. They serve no rational function in the economy and are merely monopolizing a resource.

wtvanhest 9y ago
If you believe this, you just need to buy ag land at today's prices and sell once your hypothesis plays out.
- sanderjd 9y ago
  I can't "just" buy land. Not many people can.
seanmcdirmid 9y ago
> Robots for labor are coming, and when they do it is time to take agriculturally productive land away from the profiteers. They serve no rational function in the economy and are merely monopolizing a resource. This is one of the big questions we'll have to ask in the next 20 or so years, and it just isn't farms. We are going to have to deal with plenty of industries that will merely consume resources and produce without providing any other benefits to society.
- maxerickson 9y ago
  A value added tax could raise revenue from robot farms and factories, there is no need to seize them.
  - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
    I didn't agree with seizing them, just that we have to figure out what to do. A VAT could definitely help, but consumers will still need jobs to consume, and if they can't find any in production...well...can we live on doing services alone? I don't know. Hopefully people smarter than me are thinking about this.
jessaustin 9y ago
As has been confirmed in 95% of previous land reform efforts, farming is not "profiteering". When you take productive land from its owners and give it to the politically connected, you're left with unproductive land.
- frabbit 9y ago
  Surely it's 95.6897% ? It would be a mistake to simply call this "land reform" and confuse it with (e.g. Zimbabwe) while ignoring positive examples (e.g. Ireland). It's a fundamentally different situation brought about by technological progress. The balance of benefits to society of having a risk-taking entrepreneur who is able to (often) produce a desired good and disperse some of the profit to employees is altered. A re-evaluation has become necessary. Ditto for many other industries.
  - KGIII 9y ago
    If I recall correctly, it was land reform that led to the potato famine being as devastating as it was. I'm not sure Ireland is a good example.
    - frabbit 9y ago
      You remember incorrectly. The famine was the result of laissez-faire capitalism (Wiki-1) combined with active discrimination against the majority Catholic population which explicitly interfered with the paternalist regulation of land in the interests of the majority. And Ireland is not the only EU nation with a history of positive land reform movements in the late 19th and early 20th century. -- Refs: Wiki-1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)#Landlords_and_tenants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)#Landlor...
      - jessaustin 9y ago
        Should tyrants really be praised for slightly moderating their tyranny? Ireland was happy and agriculturally productive for millennia before the Tudor Conquest. That the Plantation of Ulster was a slow-motion disaster, makes it no less a disaster.

wtvanhest 9y ago

If you believe this, you just need to buy ag land at today's prices and sell once your hypothesis plays out.

sanderjd 9y ago
I can't "just" buy land. Not many people can.

seanmcdirmid 9y ago

> Robots for labor are coming, and when they do it is time to take agriculturally productive land away from the profiteers. They serve no rational function in the economy and are merely monopolizing a resource. This is one of the big questions we'll have to ask in the next 20 or so years, and it just isn't farms. We are going to have to deal with plenty of industries that will merely consume resources and produce without providing any other benefits to society.

maxerickson 9y ago
A value added tax could raise revenue from robot farms and factories, there is no need to seize them.
- seanmcdirmid 9y ago
  I didn't agree with seizing them, just that we have to figure out what to do. A VAT could definitely help, but consumers will still need jobs to consume, and if they can't find any in production...well...can we live on doing services alone? I don't know. Hopefully people smarter than me are thinking about this.

jessaustin 9y ago

As has been confirmed in 95% of previous land reform efforts, farming is not "profiteering". When you take productive land from its owners and give it to the politically connected, you're left with unproductive land.

frabbit 9y ago
Surely it's 95.6897% ? It would be a mistake to simply call this "land reform" and confuse it with (e.g. Zimbabwe) while ignoring positive examples (e.g. Ireland). It's a fundamentally different situation brought about by technological progress. The balance of benefits to society of having a risk-taking entrepreneur who is able to (often) produce a desired good and disperse some of the profit to employees is altered. A re-evaluation has become necessary. Ditto for many other industries.
- KGIII 9y ago
  If I recall correctly, it was land reform that led to the potato famine being as devastating as it was. I'm not sure Ireland is a good example.
  - frabbit 9y ago
    You remember incorrectly. The famine was the result of laissez-faire capitalism (Wiki-1) combined with active discrimination against the majority Catholic population which explicitly interfered with the paternalist regulation of land in the interests of the majority. And Ireland is not the only EU nation with a history of positive land reform movements in the late 19th and early 20th century. -- Refs: Wiki-1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)#Landlords_and_tenants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)#Landlor...
    - jessaustin 9y ago
      Should tyrants really be praised for slightly moderating their tyranny? Ireland was happy and agriculturally productive for millennia before the Tudor Conquest. That the Plantation of Ulster was a slow-motion disaster, makes it no less a disaster.