5 ms·

Back-breaking farm work is done largely by humans who are present in the country illegally.

by abstractbarista 6y ago

mdoms 6y ago
So the fields would be left fallow if governments enforced their laws properly?
- dx87 6y ago
  In some cases, yes. California farms are having problems finding people to work in fields since border control got tighter, and American's don't want to do the work, even for $15+ an hour. The farm owners said they're switching crops over to ones that are easier to harvest with machines. Similar things have happened in the South-East USA, where crops have been left to rot on the field because the government started cracking down on illegal immigrant labor, and no citizens want to fill the positions. https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-farms-immigration/ https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-farms-immigration/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/14/alabama-immigration-law-workers https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/14/alabama-immigr...
  - nerdponx 6y ago
    This seems like a short term phenomenon as the market adjusts. Over time, consumer prices of labor-intensive produce will rise relative to non-labor-intensive produce. If you had to find a humanitarian angle here, you should ask what the people who were previously working in the fields should do for work instead. Is unemployment the only alternative? Or can the large numbers of people who are currently migrant workers be incorporated into the economy in a different but productive way? I don't have good answers to those questions.
- nearbuy 6y ago
  Every year struggling farms go out of business[1]. If expenses are a bit higher, a bit more farms will go under. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2020/02/10/us-farm-bankruptcies-reach-eight-year-high-infographic/#752fd5cb7de0 https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2020/02/10/us-far...

5 ms·

Back-breaking farm work is done largely by humans who are present in the country illegally.

by abstractbarista 6y ago

Back-breaking farm work is done largely by humans who are present in the country illegally.

mdoms 6y ago
So the fields would be left fallow if governments enforced their laws properly?
- dx87 6y ago
  In some cases, yes. California farms are having problems finding people to work in fields since border control got tighter, and American's don't want to do the work, even for $15+ an hour. The farm owners said they're switching crops over to ones that are easier to harvest with machines. Similar things have happened in the South-East USA, where crops have been left to rot on the field because the government started cracking down on illegal immigrant labor, and no citizens want to fill the positions. https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-farms-immigration/ https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-farms-immigration/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/14/alabama-immigration-law-workers https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/14/alabama-immigr...
  - nerdponx 6y ago
    This seems like a short term phenomenon as the market adjusts. Over time, consumer prices of labor-intensive produce will rise relative to non-labor-intensive produce. If you had to find a humanitarian angle here, you should ask what the people who were previously working in the fields should do for work instead. Is unemployment the only alternative? Or can the large numbers of people who are currently migrant workers be incorporated into the economy in a different but productive way? I don't have good answers to those questions.
- nearbuy 6y ago
  Every year struggling farms go out of business[1]. If expenses are a bit higher, a bit more farms will go under. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2020/02/10/us-farm-bankruptcies-reach-eight-year-high-infographic/#752fd5cb7de0 https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2020/02/10/us-far...