When the U.S. tried to replace migrant farmworkers with high schoolers (2018)
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Re: When the U.S. tried to replace migrant farmworkers with high schoolers (2018)
#2This sounds quite sinister but it was a common summer job in Iowa for teenagers. You could make enough in a summer to buy a used car. Because of immigration these jobs are not really available for citizens anymore. I haven't heard of any teenagers taking this work in some time. You had to work long hours in the sun and heat but it was "an honest day's work."
Re: When the U.S. tried to replace migrant farmworkers with high schoolers (2018)
#3Setting aside the moral component, and focusing on the economic; the Trump deportation plan is red carpet invitation for consolidation. Agriculture today is a declining mix of many medium and small growers, with a few mega growers that have increasingly concentrated their market share of output. Deportation will greatly accelerate this trend, consolidating most agriculture under a few mega growers. Small and medium sized farm operations can’t afford the capital for complex automation to replace manual labor - but mega corps can.
Re: When the U.S. tried to replace migrant farmworkers with high schoolers (2018)
#4This sounds quite sinister but it was a common summer job in Iowa for teenagers. You could make enough in a summer to buy a used car. Because of immigration these jobs are not really available for citizens anymore. I haven't heard of any teenagers taking this work in some time. You had to work long hours in the sun and heat but it was "an honest day's work."
A quick look at the profiles of teenagers on TikTok, Instagram and OnlyFans make me believe they have the physical and mental strength and will to work long hours in the sun in maybe the most physically taxing work ever: farm work.
Re: When the U.S. tried to replace migrant farmworkers with high schoolers (2018)
#5This sounds quite sinister but it was a common summer job in Iowa for teenagers. You could make enough in a summer to buy a used car. Because of immigration these jobs are not really available for citizens anymore. I haven't heard of any teenagers taking this work in some time. You had to work long hours in the sun and heat but it was "an honest day's work."
Are you sure you have the direction of causation right there?
Re: When the U.S. tried to replace migrant farmworkers with high schoolers (2018)
#6This sounds quite sinister but it was a common summer job in Iowa for teenagers. You could make enough in a summer to buy a used car. Because of immigration these jobs are not really available for citizens anymore. I haven't heard of any teenagers taking this work in some time. You had to work long hours in the sun and heat but it was "an honest day's work."
Teenagers young and older are definitely still working on fields here in the US[0], and also a good portion now work the processing facilities instead[1][2].
Whether it qualifies as 'an honest day's work' these days - or a cruel and punishing existence - I'll leave for you to decide.
[0] https://youtu.be/41vETgarh_8?si=S0dBolFjv04SSprh&t=497
[1] https://www.npr.org/2023/09/25/1201524399/child-labor-perdue...
Re: When the U.S. tried to replace migrant farmworkers with high schoolers (2018)
#7This sounds quite sinister but it was a common summer job in Iowa for teenagers. You could make enough in a summer to buy a used car. Because of immigration these jobs are not really available for citizens anymore. I haven't heard of any teenagers taking this work in some time. You had to work long hours in the sun and heat but it was "an honest day's work."
A quick look at the profiles of teenagers on TikTok, Instagram and OnlyFans make me believe they have the physical and mental strength and will to work long hours in the sun in maybe the most physically taxing work ever: farm work.
It's not that it's physically difficult. You don't have to lift very heavy or have much knowhow other than how to remove a husk from a corncob. But it's incredibly toilsome and boring. You get bussed out from your city or town for a few hours to the middle of nowhere. You bring a gallon of water and don your hat for shade. Then you trudge along endless rows of corn, husking and husking. The corn literally goes as far as your eye can see. You do this from sun up to sun down. Then you go home and shower and pass out in bed, wake up a couple hours before dawn and do it again. My friends, I wouldn't see them for months! They would disappear during June and July and reappear a few thousand dollars richer, usually having lost a lot of weight and with a roasted tan.
Re: When the U.S. tried to replace migrant farmworkers with high schoolers (2018)
#8Setting aside the moral component, and focusing on the economic; the Trump deportation plan is red carpet invitation for consolidation. Agriculture today is a declining mix of many medium and small growers, with a few mega growers that have increasingly concentrated their market share of output. Deportation will greatly accelerate this trend, consolidating most agriculture under a few mega growers. Small and medium s…
The Trump team has already stated they are limiting deportations to criminal illegals, so I guess just people who are in the US illegally and have committed a separate crime. This is before any real opposition has been mounted where it’s expected he’ll cave anyway. Trump is more likely to start a war with Iran than he is to do any sort of mass deportation.
Also a weird thing is happening with automation, it’s getting a lot cheaper, bespoke tooling and machines are going through a substantial revolution. And that is not including any AI stuff. The price of small batch electronics and machines are dropping fast.
Re: When the U.S. tried to replace migrant farmworkers with high schoolers (2018)
#9This sounds quite sinister but it was a common summer job in Iowa for teenagers. You could make enough in a summer to buy a used car. Because of immigration these jobs are not really available for citizens anymore. I haven't heard of any teenagers taking this work in some time. You had to work long hours in the sun and heat but it was "an honest day's work."
Teenagers young and older are definitely still working on fields here in the US[0], and also a good portion now work the processing facilities instead[1][2]. Whether it qualifies as 'an honest day's work' these days - or a cruel and punishing existence - I'll leave for you to decide. [0] https://youtu.be/41vETgarh_8?si=S0dBolFjv04SSprh&t=497 [1] https://www.npr.org/2023/09/25/1201524399/child-labor-perdue... [2] http…
It's a good point. I'm speaking of high school who are allowed to legally work in the state of Iowa. If a 16 year old willfully employing themself in an entry level job is considered exploitative child labor to you, I don't know what to say. One sad effect of the changes in labor in the state is that only citizens are beholden to labor laws, whereas those working under the table are not. So it's true there is child labor. The families and farm companies break the law because they still make more than they would back home, but it's less pay than what they are owed under the law, and the parents will lie about their child's age so they can begin working a few years earlier than they are allowed. It causes a cycle of poverty because the kids get used to the farm and they miss out on proper schooling.
Re: When the U.S. tried to replace migrant farmworkers with high schoolers (2018)
#10This sounds quite sinister but it was a common summer job in Iowa for teenagers. You could make enough in a summer to buy a used car. Because of immigration these jobs are not really available for citizens anymore. I haven't heard of any teenagers taking this work in some time. You had to work long hours in the sun and heat but it was "an honest day's work."
Are you sure you have the direction of causation right there?
Well, respectfully speaking, if you have more firsthand knowledge of this industry than I do, and have a point to make other than merely calling my experience in the subject in to question, then I will entertain that I might have things backward. But I suspect between the two of us, I know more about it than you do, because I've been in the fields myself.