4 ms·

It's based on the entry level salary for California tech workers being six figures whereas the wage for farm workers is an exception to laws such that they can

It's based on the entry level salary for California tech workers being six figures whereas the wage for farm workers is an exception to laws such that they can be paid below minimum wage.

epicureanideal 5y ago
> farm workers is an exception to laws such that they can be paid below minimum wage. I’m all for setting the minimum wage for farm workers at $25/hr. Within 2-3 years every manual farm worker will be replaced by a machine, and we’ll all be better off for it. Well, not the manual workers, temporarily. But then we’ll have to deal with the problem of unemployment honestly rather than leaving make-work jobs around.
- cbm-vic-20 5y ago
  Somebody has to build and maintain the machines.
- ipaddr 5y ago
  Unemployment for migrant workers means they won't come so that isn't a problem. The real problem is machines can't replace those jobs or they would have. 25/h would mean very high prices for local food so everything will come via imports.
  - randomdata 5y ago
    > Unemployment for migrant workers means they won't come so that isn't a problem. It is a problem for them. They wouldn't come if it weren't economically advantageous to do so. Losing those jobs leaves them worse off, at least in the short term.
- onethought 5y ago
  Minimum wage in Australia is ~$25/hour... and has been for > 10 years... still no new machines.
- ddddfdohvsyknn 5y ago
  > I’m all for setting the minimum wage for farm workers at $25/hr. Within 2-3 years every manual farm worker will be replaced by a machine, and we’ll all be better off for it. Oh yeah you think the only thing between us and a fully automated robot-run future is labor market conditions? The perfect robot slaves will not be forthcoming for quite awhile. We will have to settle for human slaves, or in modern times, immigrants totally reliant on their employer and without the normal rights afforded citizens for our low prices. I sympathize with libertarian and capitalist ideals but I find it disturbing that the agricultural and energy base of the US economy is anything but free market.
- randomdata 5y ago
  The thing about minimum wage is that it is not a maximum wage. These days you're not going to find much farm help unless you're up into the $20 per hour range already anyway. Being able to theoretically pay less doesn't mean much when nobody shows up.

It's based on the entry level salary for California tech workers being six figures whereas the wage for farm workers is an exception to laws such that they can be paid below minimum wage.

epicureanideal 5y ago

> farm workers is an exception to laws such that they can be paid below minimum wage. I’m all for setting the minimum wage for farm workers at $25/hr. Within 2-3 years every manual farm worker will be replaced by a machine, and we’ll all be better off for it. Well, not the manual workers, temporarily. But then we’ll have to deal with the problem of unemployment honestly rather than leaving make-work jobs around.

cbm-vic-20 5y ago
Somebody has to build and maintain the machines.
ipaddr 5y ago
Unemployment for migrant workers means they won't come so that isn't a problem. The real problem is machines can't replace those jobs or they would have. 25/h would mean very high prices for local food so everything will come via imports.
- randomdata 5y ago
  > Unemployment for migrant workers means they won't come so that isn't a problem. It is a problem for them. They wouldn't come if it weren't economically advantageous to do so. Losing those jobs leaves them worse off, at least in the short term.
onethought 5y ago
Minimum wage in Australia is ~$25/hour... and has been for > 10 years... still no new machines.
ddddfdohvsyknn 5y ago
> I’m all for setting the minimum wage for farm workers at $25/hr. Within 2-3 years every manual farm worker will be replaced by a machine, and we’ll all be better off for it. Oh yeah you think the only thing between us and a fully automated robot-run future is labor market conditions? The perfect robot slaves will not be forthcoming for quite awhile. We will have to settle for human slaves, or in modern times, immigrants totally reliant on their employer and without the normal rights afforded citizens for our low prices. I sympathize with libertarian and capitalist ideals but I find it disturbing that the agricultural and energy base of the US economy is anything but free market.
randomdata 5y ago
The thing about minimum wage is that it is not a maximum wage. These days you're not going to find much farm help unless you're up into the $20 per hour range already anyway. Being able to theoretically pay less doesn't mean much when nobody shows up.