Comments on: Farms Struggle With Immigration Crackdown

Loss Of Immigrant Labor Could Shutter Family Farms In New York

[hwy71so]

Hard work? These punk kids these days, those who think they need a gang to belong, could use some hard work. Sweat some of that dissention out of their pores.

[hwy71so]

If Bush ever starts doing the right thing,
he would order the troops into the onion fields instead of into foreign countries.

Posted by middleman8 at 12:40 AM : Oct 11, 2007

THIS has got to be the most moronic statement posted yet. Our troops are organized for our defense, not for pulling weeds.

I say take all those people you see standing at the intersections, all those morons that call your house all day trying to get you to contribute to the sheriff''s organization, etc and put them to work in the fields.

Turn on the TV and look at the commercials. Takes them 60 people to tell you to use their cell phone service. There''re more workers for the onion and concrete fields.

There is NO excuse for these people to be hiring outside (illegal)) employees. Send the illegals home and fine those who would rely on their production.

[slim1h2o]

Somehow I just cannot envision the United States labor force of tomorrow, or today for that matter, - the labor force that was raised on air conditioning, potato chips, cupcakes, burgers and fries, tv, computers and all the gee whiz expensive toys provided by mommie and daddy - joyously running into the fields to pick crops at even the higher minimum wage of $8.00 per hour. That wouldn''''t pay their monthly junk food bill


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Posted by NativeWoman at 04:21 AM : Oct 11, 2007

That''s some of our problems today. If Mommy and Daddy would do their jobs raising their kids, they would get of that couch. These people (30) and younger, have no respect and no responsiblities. I''ve worked with these younger generation, they''re awful to work with. Can''t/won''t keep up. Which in turn, us older workers had to work that much harder, to produce the same amount of work. And when I complained about the situation, well might as well been talking to a brick wall. No wonder, we have this immigration problem.

[keithle1]

ontheleft: "Please don''''t tell me Americans can''''t do the work. Teenagers in Connecticut used to pick the tobacco crop and it was a common summer job because the teenagers couldn''''t find much else."

They CAN do it. Sure. If Americans wanted to do it, they would be doing it. They don''t want to do it. Even unemployed Americans don''t want to do farm/agricultural work. And certainly not for the
pay that these folks are working for.

Teenagers in Connecticut picking tobacco? White teenagers? How long ago was that? Are they doing it now?

Native Woman: "Do you genuinely believe droves of United States workers are going to flock to the hardest work they''''ve ever even contemplated for $8.00 an hour?

Dream on!"

[ontheleft]

Please don''t tell me Americans can''t do the work. Teenagers in Connecticut used to pick the tobacco crop and it was a common summer job because the teenagers couldn''t find much else. If you can''t find teenagers or other legal workers to do the work and still make a profit, then you need to find a more profitable crop, or move your farm down to Mexico.

[nativewoman]

Paying a minimum wage will even attract American workers...Posted by tbweb at 01:54 AM : Oct 11, 2007

Picking crops is backbreaking, hot, dirty work. The promise of a minimum wage is hardly going to draw a large work force of pampered United States citizens.

Federal Minimum wage is currently $5.85/hour to rise to a whopping $6.55/hour in 2008 and to the staggering rate of $7.25/hour in 2009.

Florida''s minimum wage is $6.67 per hour.

The minimum wage in California is $7.50 per hour to climb into the stratosphere at $8.00 per hour in January 2008. Of course, the cost of living in California also reaches the stratosphere.

Somehow I just cannot envision the United States labor force of tomorrow, or today for that matter, - the labor force that was raised on air conditioning, potato chips, cupcakes, burgers and fries, tv, computers and all the gee whiz expensive toys provided by mommie and daddy - joyously running into the fields to pick crops at even the higher minimum wage of $8.00 per hour. That wouldn''t pay their monthly junk food bill!

Do you genuinely believe droves of United States workers are going to flock to the hardest work they''ve ever even contemplated for $8.00 an hour?

Dream on!

[tbweb]

There are many legal immigrants who can do this same work. This idea that only illegal immigrants can do this work is weak! The real problem is businesses do not want to pay a living minimum wage, the real problem is businesses want to exploit the disenfranchised! Paying a minimum wage will even attract American workers. I would be willing to pay extra for farm products so that everyone who works there can enjoy a decent living wage, most Americans would as well.

[middleman8]

If Bush ever starts doing the right thing,
he would order the troops into the onion fields instead of into foreign countries.

[brianbwb-2009]

So let us also let the crack houses continue, because arresting the operation would "put the owners out of business".

If a business does not produce income for Americans, pays no taxes, provides no health coverage for its'' workers, contributes to unemployment, and produces no benefit other than increased profit for a select few owners, then such business is a drain, rather than an asset to society.

It is past time to put to rest the old neocon excuse for slavery that goes "illegals do jobs the Americans won''t do", and replace it with the truth, "illegals work for subhuman wages no American can afford".

The basic rule of capitalism, "if you can''t afford it, then you can''t have it" should apply to all if it applies to any, this includes it''s richest practitioners, and the Government that perpetuates it.

[wordamus]

Yeah, the farmers are suffering.

But I have to tell you I have a search set in Google to email news about Illegals. You could fill a blog with just the stories I get. Murder, muggings, prostitution, etc, etc. Worse yet, the bad boys come up and treat the USA as a wild west play ground. And when we hear about them on the news these guys have "rap Sheet" long as your arm. Why? What are we going to do to them...throw them out. Yeah, right. They come back again and again and again. Then they get back here, they just do more of the same.

Enough. I feel sorry for the farmers. But throw all of the illegals out, control the border and start legal immigration again and do it the right way...sanely.