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Who will harvest the crops?

Because that would be indentured servitude. And that is banned by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. I don't agree with slave labor.

Inmates participate in work-release programs already. If it weren't for the illegal aliens, there would be more openings for convicts.
 
I lived in California. And you're typical. Very sad state of education out there.

You don't know me, and I'm not the subject of discussion, but thanks anyway. When the ad hominin attacks start, there is no doubt that the attacker no longer has anything of worth to say. Thanks for the heads up.
 
You don't know me, and I'm not the subject of discussion, but thanks anyway. When the ad hominin attacks start, there is no doubt that the attacker no longer has anything of worth to say. Thanks for the heads up.

And pull your pants up.
 
There was a sign up near here for most of the summer, all in Spanish, advertising for peach pickers and packers and offering $11 to $12 an hour.

All in Spanish. No need to advertise in English, apparently.

The fruit pickers and packers are making more money than the people working McDonalds. Maybe the sign should be put in front of the local fast food places.
 
In the meantime, we still need the workers. Ar2D2 and C3po haven't learned to pick peaches or grapes as yet.
Eventually, no doubt those jobs will disappear along with most of the jobs uneducated people can do. What will they do then, I wonder?

Something else or die.
 
Inmates participate in work-release programs already. If it weren't for the illegal aliens, there would be more openings for convicts.

Unfortunately a good argument can be made that the use of prisoners for labour in america is nothing more than than the new slavery of americans.
 
I believe that was mentioned in one of the links in the OP. It didn't work out so well.

It's amazing what people will actually do when their welfare benefits are cut if they won't work.


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So far, no one in power in Washington is suggesting a guest worker program. Maybe they will, but right now it's deport all of the illegals and build a wall.

That's not what I am hearing. It is deport all of the illegal CRIMINAL types and secure the border with a wall or whatever is necessary to do that.
 
The fruit pickers and packers are making more money than the people working McDonalds. Maybe the sign should be put in front of the local fast food places.

Maybe so. Picking is hard work, but it can pay more than most of the minimum wage jobs. I think maybe the problem is Americans are afraid to get dirty and sweaty. It is hard work. I know, because years ago, back when I was a young man, Americans did pick fruit, and yes, that includes me.
 
Something else or die.

There aren't a lot of "something elses". There is welfare, or getting an education in something that pays. The problem is, the more jobs are automated, the fewer of them there are.
 
That's not what I am hearing. It is deport all of the illegal CRIMINAL types and secure the border with a wall or whatever is necessary to do that.

Yes, they say let's deport the criminal aliens first. Good idea. I haven't heard anything about a guest worker program. I wonder if the farmers really have anything to worry about, or whether the new administration will just deport a few people with criminal records and then let the status quo go on as it has for decades?

I'm guessing that's exactly what will happen. Once the voters become convinced that the administration is actually doing something about illegal immigration, they'll go on to something else and nothing will really change.
 
So basically farmers became dependent on not only people breaking the law, but breaking the law themselves.
 
So basically farmers became dependent on not only people breaking the law, but breaking the law themselves.

Not just farmers, but yes, that's what has happened over the past few decades. The last time anyone tried to do something to end the situation was during the Eisenhower administration.

Well, they did try amnesty under the Reagan administration (yes, I'm aware that the partisan Republicans blame that one on the Democrats) but that didn't work out so well.
 
In the new zeal to find a simplistic answer to the complex issue of illegal immigration, it seems the farmers (most of whom in this area voted for Trump, BTW) have been forgotten.
This is nothing new, of course from 2014:

As you may recall, back in 2014 the White House was occupied by a Democrat who "wanted open borders" according to his political detractors.
So, now we have a Republican dedicated to the idea of deporting millions of people and building a wall.
According to one large grower:

Illegal immigration is not a Democrat vs. Republican issue, nor is it something that can be easily fixed. Simplistic solutions to complex problems seldom can.

Who will harvest the crops?

Who will harvest the cotton?
 
The Right (farmers) rely on what amounts to slave labor, and then votes to have it removed; the Left warns of the cost of food if we get rid of the slaves.

This is insanity.
 
Not just farmers, but yes, that's what has happened over the past few decades. The last time anyone tried to do something to end the situation was during the Eisenhower administration.

Well, they did try amnesty under the Reagan administration (yes, I'm aware that the partisan Republicans blame that one on the Democrats) but that didn't work out so well.

So is the basic idea to just let it slide with no consequences for either the illegal aliens or the businesses operating illegally? I guess being a nation of laws get overridden when higher food prices are on the line. :roll:
 
In the new zeal to find a simplistic answer to the complex issue of illegal immigration, it seems the farmers (most of whom in this area voted for Trump, BTW) have been forgotten.
This is nothing new, of course from 2014:

As you may recall, back in 2014 the White House was occupied by a Democrat who "wanted open borders" according to his political detractors.
So, now we have a Republican dedicated to the idea of deporting millions of people and building a wall.
According to one large grower:

Illegal immigration is not a Democrat vs. Republican issue, nor is it something that can be easily fixed. Simplistic solutions to complex problems seldom can.

It will further the trend of automation. The market will adjust the few small farmers that are left will go out of business to the bigger farms. A few companies with the machinery will pop up to license the use of their machines to the few farmers who remain who can't afford the machines themselves.
 
Who will harvest the crops?

Who will harvest the cotton?

Actually, the line is "who will pick the cotton" Turns out the answer was obvious the whole time.
 
So is the basic idea to just let it slide with no consequences for either the illegal aliens or the businesses operating illegally? I guess being a nation of laws get overridden when higher food prices are on the line. :roll:

No.
What I've been saying all along is that this is a complex problem (like health care, who knew?) and isn't going to be solved by simplistic solutions.

Is the culprit the employers or is it the illegals, or is it something else? How do we best solve this decades old problem? Blaming isn't going to really solve anything. Ignoring the fact that the illegals are needed under the present system isn't going to solve the problem. Rounding up the illegals and deporting them is just going to cost a ton of money, but won't solve the problem. Building a wall is one of the silliest notions anyone has come up with. The issue of illegal immigration has been around for decades now, and isn't going away easily.

Maybe if the Democrats and Republicans could put aside their stupid partisanship and work together on a practical and real solution that would work for everyone....

..no, that's just crazy talk. It could never happen.
 
It will further the trend of automation. The market will adjust the few small farmers that are left will go out of business to the bigger farms. A few companies with the machinery will pop up to license the use of their machines to the few farmers who remain who can't afford the machines themselves.

Eventually.

In the meantime, field labor is still essential.
 
Actually, the line is "who will pick the cotton" Turns out the answer was obvious the whole time.

It's interesting that this defense of this part of the immigration debate is exactly parallel to the same defense of slavery.

Oppression of a class of people for the betterment of the wealthy seems to cross time and space divisions.
 
No.
What I've been saying all along is that this is a complex problem (like health care, who knew?) and isn't going to be solved by simplistic solutions.

Is the culprit the employers or is it the illegals, or is it something else? How do we best solve this decades old problem? Blaming isn't going to really solve anything. Ignoring the fact that the illegals are needed under the present system isn't going to solve the problem. Rounding up the illegals and deporting them is just going to cost a ton of money, but won't solve the problem. Building a wall is one of the silliest notions anyone has come up with. The issue of illegal immigration has been around for decades now, and isn't going away easily.

Maybe if the Democrats and Republicans could put aside their stupid partisanship and work together on a practical and real solution that would work for everyone....

..no, that's just crazy talk. It could never happen.

Lack of workers is not the issue - we pay plenty of folks not to take those jobs. The issue is that few want to be migrant workers having to either leave their families or constantly keep moving them. The solution is to pay locals enough for a few months work to prevent the need to migrate. The other (majority of?) positions that attract illegal labor would have to offer better pay and benefits to beat what the "safety net" now offers to citizens to avoid taking those jobs - or to cap the "safety net" at the equivalent net of a single full-time MW job (which is not likely).
 
It's interesting that this defense of this part of the immigration debate is exactly parallel to the same defense of slavery.

Oppression of a class of people for the betterment of the wealthy seems to cross time and space divisions.

People keep saying no one but illegals will do the job, but I bet you good money the farmers are purposely not hiring anyone but illegals. The lie isn't even a good lie, but one of those lies someone makes when they are caught red handed.

And yeah, it's the same argument because the motivations are exactly the same. They want to keep the price of operations low, so they use the fact that they provide an essential service as leverage for their behavior.
 
Maybe so. Picking is hard work, but it can pay more than most of the minimum wage jobs. I think maybe the problem is Americans are afraid to get dirty and sweaty. It is hard work. I know, because years ago, back when I was a young man, Americans did pick fruit, and yes, that includes me.

I did the same.
 
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