Hi Joel,
I know how it affects me. It drives my wages down. By producing cheap food
in Calif. with the use of illegal aliens, producers are able to produce food
at a fraction of the cost that it would take to pay a living wage.
But don't forget the other subsidies to the cheap food crisis. The
subsidised energy prices, the subsidised transportation system, the
subsidised water rights, the subsidised pollution clean up.....
It makes it really hard to make a living growing vegeatbles because the
masses can go to the growcery and buy what they need at nice, easy prices.
Why would they want to pay any more than the have to? Do you think they know
how hard I work to compete with easy prices? If they knew, would they care?
I wonder...
Cheap food drives my neighbors off thier farms. Then development can occur
and the land be put to a higher purpose. That's what I hear at capital hill.
The higher purpose of development, is primary to a purpose like just growing
food. It stimulates the economy! It makes it grow and expand, and therefore
the public good is served.
Any hardship I may endure, or my neighbors, in losing their farms, is of
little consequence when the greater good is served. As long as the economy
keeps expanding we have nothing to worry about.
And if we lose our farming community to attrition, can't the be replaced
with prison labor? It seems we have a lot of growth in that industry. Why
not put that resource to good use? Here in wisconsin we already have chain
gangs, and govenor Thompson has bold new plans to make the prison industry
more 'cost effective'.
But I prattle now... I must go tend the animals and other chores.
Cheers,
Greg
>Hello to all...
>
>Today, I read that 42% of the agricultural laborers in California between
>1995 and 1997 were illegal aliens.
>
>I am wondering if anyone can comment on what sort of structural changes
>would be necessary for California to meet its agricultural
>labor needs using legal laborers ? What volume of total laborers does 42%
>add up to ? How much do Californias farmers save in production costs by
>making such extensive use of cheap illegal labor ?
>
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