4 ms·

Sometimes "nobody doing it" is the correct answer. It might not be economically viable for the USA to grow strawberries. We can import strawberries or find some

by tropo 8y ago

Sometimes "nobody doing it" is the correct answer. It might not be economically viable for the USA to grow strawberries. We can import strawberries or find something else to eat. In the long-term, automation may help. We can also pay a tiny bit more for our strawberries. At retail level, the cost of farm labor is is tiny portion of the total cost. Crops don't rot on the vine if farmers know the labor situation in advance. Some will decide not to grow that crop. Others will find labor, paying more if required. Whenever the supply of illegal aliens is reduced, wages rise. The "living wage" can not happen in the presence of illegal aliens. Once wages rise, Americans take the jobs. You can even see this today in the record-low unemployment rates.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
Analemma_ 8y ago
> Sometimes "nobody doing it" is the correct answer. It might not be economically viable for the USA to grow strawberries. We can import strawberries or find something else to eat. I actually agree with this, but society has decided that "food security" is an important component of national security and that the country would like to maintain domestic food production even if it is uneconomical. And that's fine, if that's what the public wants, but once you do that you have to live with the consequences, like being forced to choose between illegal labor and rotting crops. > In the long-term, automation may help. Maybe, but a lot of the produce-picking that can be automated already has been. What's left is crops that, for whatever reason, are much harder to automate. > At retail level, the cost of farm labor is is tiny portion of the total cost. I'd like to see a source for this. > Crops don't rot on the vine if farmers know the labor situation in advance Please actually read my two links. The first is from 2012, and the second is about how the situation persisted through 2016. You're saying four years of Georgia's law wasn't enough advance notice?
- tropo 8y ago
  It wasn't four years of a consistent labor situation without any expectation of change. It was four years of ups and downs with changing politics. It would be reasonable for a farmer to expect that there will be a massive amnesty, and then that doesn't happen. Some farmers simply have four years worth of emergency funds and a whole lot of stubbornness. Also, I should have said "crops MOSTLY don't rot on the vine" because: Even if the labor supply is stable, some crops will still be left to rot. The production of the land and the demands of the consumers are both subject to change. This affects the price. Given the current price, some farms may decide to not bother harvesting. Farms aren't always 100% serious. Lots of them are almost a hobby, or for tax reasons. (if you can claim your home is a farm, you may pay lower property taxes, and there are even income tax advantages)
omegaworks 8y ago
>We can import strawberries or find something else to eat. > Whenever the supply of illegal aliens is reduced, wages rise. The "living wage" can not happen in the presence of illegal aliens. Once wages rise, Americans take the jobs. You can even see this today in the record-low unemployment rates. So we import our strawberries and wages will rise? How can both of these things be true? And the alternative is we won't eat strawberries anymore? What you're proposing is setting our country up to be a worse place on the individual level "hey, why can't I find strawberries in my grocery store?" and on the national level, because we'll be beholden to whoever we're importing from. There's a reason why a country should grow its own food. It's critical for our national security that we not be dependent on outsiders for something so basic. Whoever told you they're doing this to "Make America Great Again" was lying to you. Not being able to buy strawberries would make America worse.

by tropo 8y ago

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

Analemma_ 8y ago

> Sometimes "nobody doing it" is the correct answer. It might not be economically viable for the USA to grow strawberries. We can import strawberries or find something else to eat. I actually agree with this, but society has decided that "food security" is an important component of national security and that the country would like to maintain domestic food production even if it is uneconomical. And that's fine, if that's what the public wants, but once you do that you have to live with the consequences, like being forced to choose between illegal labor and rotting crops. > In the long-term, automation may help. Maybe, but a lot of the produce-picking that can be automated already has been. What's left is crops that, for whatever reason, are much harder to automate. > At retail level, the cost of farm labor is is tiny portion of the total cost. I'd like to see a source for this. > Crops don't rot on the vine if farmers know the labor situation in advance Please actually read my two links. The first is from 2012, and the second is about how the situation persisted through 2016. You're saying four years of Georgia's law wasn't enough advance notice?

tropo 8y ago
It wasn't four years of a consistent labor situation without any expectation of change. It was four years of ups and downs with changing politics. It would be reasonable for a farmer to expect that there will be a massive amnesty, and then that doesn't happen. Some farmers simply have four years worth of emergency funds and a whole lot of stubbornness. Also, I should have said "crops MOSTLY don't rot on the vine" because: Even if the labor supply is stable, some crops will still be left to rot. The production of the land and the demands of the consumers are both subject to change. This affects the price. Given the current price, some farms may decide to not bother harvesting. Farms aren't always 100% serious. Lots of them are almost a hobby, or for tax reasons. (if you can claim your home is a farm, you may pay lower property taxes, and there are even income tax advantages)

omegaworks 8y ago

>We can import strawberries or find something else to eat. > Whenever the supply of illegal aliens is reduced, wages rise. The "living wage" can not happen in the presence of illegal aliens. Once wages rise, Americans take the jobs. You can even see this today in the record-low unemployment rates. So we import our strawberries and wages will rise? How can both of these things be true? And the alternative is we won't eat strawberries anymore? What you're proposing is setting our country up to be a worse place on the individual level "hey, why can't I find strawberries in my grocery store?" and on the national level, because we'll be beholden to whoever we're importing from. There's a reason why a country should grow its own food. It's critical for our national security that we not be dependent on outsiders for something so basic. Whoever told you they're doing this to "Make America Great Again" was lying to you. Not being able to buy strawberries would make America worse.