Would you rather pay 7 dollars or 14 dollars for a basket of strawberries?

Question

Because that is how much they will cost when U.S. food companies are forced to stop using illegal migrant workers to pick 85% of our fruits and vegetables. If the jobs for them aren't here, they will stop coming. Are you willing to pay more for food to stop illegal immigration? Are you willing to protest the large food conglamerates?

To those of you calling me a liar, I tell you this: Drive the 101 North out of L.A., over the hill into Camarillo, where all you have to do is pull over to witness the day of a migrant working picking strawberries. The people are wrinkled beyond belief from the sun, hunched over from back-breaking hours of work, and wearied from sleeping in the fields. Do you honestly think someone who is sitting at home receiving welfare checks is going to do this work? Welfare pays 4X as much. And even if it didn't, look at what the answerer from Colorado said; they can't find people to replace the illegals for twice the pay. Time to WAKE UP and smell the Strawberries!

Answer 1

I agree with you... the price of ALL produce is going to sky rocket, between the crack down on migrant workers, and the subsidizing of corn production for ethanol... lots of farmers who used to grow other crops will now start growing corn, which will also raise the price of ALL produce. I've heard in Colorado they are going to start having prisoners working at some of the farms for $5 a head, so maybe they'll start doing that across the country... because you are right, a person who is too lazy to work in this country damn sure isn't going to get a job on a farm!

Answer 2

Neither.

Boo hoo. Arizona 123 degree heat, own and raise livestock.
I don't use slave labor, my ranch workers are all American.
My rancher competition uses illegal alien slave labor. We both sell our livestock at the same prices. Americans get meat at the same prices, whether the slaves are used or not.

But I hear you, and understand you completely. If we stop illegal aliens from crossing the border, the strawberry farmers' slaves will be taken away. I don't know how they will survive without the luxuries afforded to them by having slaves. Strawberries are expensive, and a necessity to one's balanced diet. Who knows the impact of a temporary price increase would have on those who live off of strawberries.

I bet those slaves work many, many hours in the heat, and they can't complain if they do, their boss will just replace them with another slave. Slaves are a dime a dozen, literally. I am glad you support the slavery, the employers of slaves should give you an award for your compassion. Because of your support these businesses don't have to pay taxes or insurance for their workers like I do.

Answer 3

That's simply not true. There would be a few months of minor price fluctuations but after legal Americans began to do the job at a livable wage ,prices would only raise by a few penny's.
Its all propaganda ,initiated by the big businesses that want to keep low underpaid workers and the illegal alien lobbyists in Washington.
There will be no $10 fruits or any of the other outrageous prices that they use as scare tactics to keep illegal aliens working for nothing.

Answer 4

Another lie meant to scare us into keeping the illegals in the country. The increase in price would be minimal.No one would buy them at that price,therefore they would be forced to keep the prices the same.
I pick my own strawberries every year,at the local American owned and operated farm in my area.I'm not too lazy to go out in the hot sun and pick them myself.So there goes another lie about the American people.
If I had the need to buy strawberries in the super market,I would be willing to pay more to rid our country of the criminals that have come across the border.

Answer 5

By Dimitri Vassilaros
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, December 12, 2004


The more you learn about illegal immigration, the less you should like it. Chances are you never cared much for it in the first place.
The Migrant Education Program gives you 897,000 more reasons to be disgusted by the stealth invasion from Mexico.

Taxpayers paid $393,600,000 last year to educate many of the roughly 900,000 eligible offspring of migrant workers in America. All of whom could be in this country illegally.

"Could," because thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1982, Plyler v. Doe, the government is not even allowed to ask parents if they are here illegally before they sign up for the government program.

Children ages 3 through 21 are entitled to a free education just because they are here. Even if the 21-year-old is married. And has children.

Services include tutorial programs, after-school extended hours, summer programs, in-home programs, health and social support services, parental involvement, advocacy, language arts and, of course, enrichment.

What? No frequent-flier miles on AeroMexico?!

The MEP "Artistas del Verano" program is "to increase the self-esteem and cultural awareness of migrant teenagers through the visual arts and academic enrichment. Participants were encouraged to study their own culture and bring to the design of the murals an image or icon to represent themselves."

The College Assistance Migrant Program is "a federally funded program designed for first-year college students from migrant and seasonal farm worker families. Pennsylvania's CAMP program is located at Penn State University. Established in 1972, CAMP has been available at Penn State since 1993. CAMP offers pre-college transition and first-year support services to help students develop the skills they need to stay in college and graduate."

High school dropouts do not fall through the cracks. They are offered alternatives, according to Suzanne E. Benchoff, director of migrant services. She oversees the implementation of the program in 30 Pennsylvania counties.

"We offer Web-based cyber schools to earn a Mexican high school diploma. They are provided with laptop computers, and our centers have high-speed DSL and T1 lines."

Ay caramba.

Apologists for illegal immigration (usually leaders of the two dominant political parties) tell you that foreigners are needed to do the work that lazy Americans will not do.

Well, the American worker is not lazy -- and he is not stupid. The reason low-paying jobs go wanting is that the pay is too low. Am I going too fast for the defenseless-borders crowd?

The more illegals that flood in, the more low-paying jobs there will be because employers will be less inclined to offer good wages. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If there were no illegal immigrants, every job would pay what it would be worth. Prices of some items would increase, but at least then you would know the real cost of a carrot, potato or onion without the de facto subsidization of illegal labor.

Every taxpayer pays for the hidden costs of these illegals so agribusiness and other labor-intensive conglomerates do not have to offer fair wages.

But every once in a while you get a glimpse of the high costs of low-priced produce. Like maybe 21 years' worth of education costs for up to 900,000 foreigners annually. And counting.

Answer 6

Labor is a very small part of the cost of produce. If farmworker wages were raised back out of the poverty level where illegal immigration drove them, (so we no longer had to subsidize the families with food stamps and aid for the kids), it would cost the average family of four $10 more per YEAR for produce according to studies.

I'd raise agriculture subsidies if necessary to keep them loyal to the American work force. One thing I DON'T ever want is to be dependant on foreign food, as we are on foreign oil, and as we are becoming on foreign manufacturing.

Our savings in social services costs and our savings in not having overcrowded, failing schools for our own children would more than make up any cost to us.

Answer 7

Let them try to sell them at $14, they'd have no market and would be forced to drop the price! Eventually the shock of not pocketing as much a profit would wear off and things would return to normal.

And for those who think they won't have enough workers to fill the void if illegals are deported, there are literally millions of people mooching welfare that are fully capable of work!

Answer 8

Tough question, it isn't the illegal immigration that bothers me, lets face it who's relatives weren't immigrants. What bothers me is slave labor. How will the immigrants or non-immigrants ever get ahead if slave labor continues to exist.

Personally If I had the time I'd pick my own, best kind is fresh from your own garden, no pesticides no hormones, ect... But if it gives somebody a job to make a living of some sort to help raise their family, I'll pay what ever....

By the way I paid $48 for 4 strawberries for a friend for valentines day, local company makes amazing stuffed strawberries.

Answer 9

i only have to pay like 3 50 and i live in Sacramento. Also u can write to the governmento or stop liking strawberries

Answer 10

!4 dollars. I recently moved away from LA just to go out of the SO CAL bubble, now in Nor Cal. I know that is friggin sadd. Have you read Tortilla Curtain, it's a good book.

Answer 11

14