Why does every one insist produce prices will skyrocket, if you stop using illegal immigrants ?

Question

let me just say , I'm from the midwest, I went to collage for AG managment. I have never seen so many illegals doing field work as I have in the last 10 years, but every one is scared that the price of food will skyrocket. 10 years ago it did not cost 8$ for a head of lettuce, or 20$ for lb of oranges . I belive their will be a small increase, but I belive the additional cost will not be that drasticwith all the other poistive benifits of having Americans doing the work ourselves.

And before you say, who's going to do the field work ? remember we Americans did it our selves before, I was out in the fields working before ... It is a way of life in the midwest.

angelaR : you need to do a little research before you jump in with a answer and then bash the berson who asked the question .

Answer 1

Kids still do it during summer-more will do it when others go.

it is a myth.

Did one of the cows get on your post for an answer-because all I hear from them is moooing all the time? She certainly good with the bull.

Answer 2

Most people do not understand farming and the economics behind it. The reason that you do not see many Americans picking produce is because you cannot support yourself much less a family doing it. The only time the extra work is needed is during the planting and harvesting seasons. This accounts for maby 6 weeks of work a year. A lot of people do not know this and assume that this type of work is what people do for a living.

People are normally paid 10-20 dollars an hour doing this work in my area. The local farmers will hire local people first and when that work force is exhausted, they hire migrants. These are immigrants on work visas who travel the country going from harvest to harvest. These people are here legally. I am sure some illegals are in the mix though. However since most people are uneducated, they might not realize a lot of harvesters are here legally and assume all of them are illegal.

So since people do not understand what this type of work consist of and what it entails, they get the picture of wages for this work going up. They also have the opinion that most of these workers are illegal, which is false. Getting rid of illegals will not have an effect on what we pay for produce. Actually the work visas these people come in on have no limit, so there should be a huge supply of such workers who are legal.

Answer 3

Hi there, answered the last question too.

I live in California which is one of the largest producers of fruit in the U.S. There are a lot of fruits and vegetables that are only grown here as far as domestic supply goes. The problem is wages. Minimum wage in here is $6.75, well over the national average. Illegal immigrants make a lot less than that, probably around half, but I am only guessing. The costs of labor double that increase will be extended to the price in the supermarket. Now, I was exagerating with the $20/lb bit, but the theory is sound and proven. For example, when the gov't, state or otherwise, increases the taxes on tobacco products the price doesn't just stay the same. The tobacco companies aren't going to eat that cut into their profits. They pass it directly to you. Now if you take my scenario from above, a doubling of labor costs does not directly translate into a doubling of price, it will result in a significant increase. I think that the only way to lessen that increase is for the gov't to subsidise farmers to make up for that loss. Here's to corporate welfare.

Answer 4

NOT TRUE..

Labor accounts for only about ten percent
of the retail price of a head of lettuce,
so even doubling the wages of pickers
would have little noticeable effect on consumers.

Without illegal aliens,
the price of agricultural products and other goods and services will NOT soar.

The definitive study on this subject
is the University of Iowa's "How Much Is That Tomato?"

The study concludes
that 'since labor is such a small component
of the end-price of agricultural products
(which includes price to the growers, transportation costs, processing /storage costs, grocers' profit, etc.),
using minimum wage workers instead of illegal aliens
would increase prices of agricultural products
by approximately 3 percent in the summer
and 4 percent in the winter ...

hardly the making of
$10 heads of lettuce,
$25 hamburgers,
$1,000 per night Days Inn hotel rooms
like the pro-illegal alien lobby claims.

Consumers are NOT benefiting from lower labor costs.

Again, it's CEOs and business owners
who benefit from taxpayer subsidies
for their illegal alien workers.

The Big Three automakers
say they moved so many jobs to Mexico
because their labor costs are 80 percent less than in America.

Anybody notice the price of new cars spiraling downward under NAFTA?

So, before you believe the prevalent pack of lies
perpetuated by the illegal alien lobby,
which makes billions off this
government-sanctioned criminal activity,
ask yourself who's saying this garbage
and look at what they have to gain.

Answer 5

I'm not sure what changed from the time you went to college as compared to now. But the rise of wealthy corporations conglomerates may be the reason. They want to make huge profits, then the farmers can't afford to pay the field workers American wages, and so it goes down the line.
It is all about Greed, making unbelievable amounts of money for the few rather than just making a nice profit.
Put corporate executives at the bottom of the same ocean as lawyers...

Answer 6

It's just pro-illegal alien banter. I was watching the local news a week or two ago and I saw a story that really caught my interest. It was about a local cherry farmer who was low on slav...err...I mean illegal alien labor due to increased deportations. And boo hoo, he ended having to hire.......HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS *gasp* to fill their place. Jobs Americans won't do my ***. Those kids were out there and happy as hell to be getting $50 for a bin of cherries.

Americans WILL do these jobs...IF they can get them. I remember when I was a teenager I tried to get a job picking apples for the summer. Not exactly McDonalds, I know, but I prefer to be outside. Well, basically, I got laughed at. I looked around and everybody else were illegal Mexican aliens. It was at that point I figured out what everybody else must have figured out (as evidenced but my being the only non-Mexican face there), that as long as my area was flooded by cheap slav..err...illegal alien labor I had NO hope of getting that job.

Those highschool kids were doing the SAME JOB for the SAME PAY. I don't see how that equates to such a huge price increase for produce. In fact the REAL WORLD result (where I live at least) of having less illegal aliens here to steal jobs seems to be.......mom and dad not having to pay $600 to buy Jr. a PS3. Without the illegals around he seems to have found a job suited to his age and skill level and can buy a PS3 himself. What a tragedy. I weep for him.

Answer 7

Yeah sure, but the Americans expect to be paid a living wage. This could be problematic for the farmers used to paying ridiculously low wages to the illegals, who are happy to make ANY kind of money. Also, the farmers would have to claim it on income tax and be required to have workers compensation insurance and all manner of things that are required when you employ people. Right now they probably just pay them cash under the table.

I'm not saying it's right, but that's why it happens.

Answer 8

You are RIGHT!!! There was a study done recently on this very subject!!!! The study showed that, if we didn't have the illegals here working the fields,the cost of fruits and veggies would NOT increase dramatically!!!! In fact,the report said they would hardly increase AT ALL!!

ILLEGALS actually cost us MORE than any "savings" we might EVER get!!!
The ONLY ones who benefit from "cheap labor", are the EMPLOYERS of illegals!!!!!!!!!!!
This savings does NOT get passed on to the consumer,but to the employers BANK ACCOUNT!!!!!

Answer 9

Illegal or legal, immigrants do jobs that no one wants at lower wages than anyone else would take. There would be a labor shortage, produce production would go down, and prices would go up. I'm not saying it's better to keep illegal immigrants here, but I am saying they keep the price of produce down.

Answer 10

The invasion on America of illegals is an act of war, cost should not be an issue