Honest question: how do German (for example) farms manage to work, since there are virtually no Mexicans in Germany?
Eastern Europeans
Mexicans Afraid of Being in America Create Farm Worker Shortage – Crops Suffer
41–50 of 96 posts
Re: Mexicans Afraid of Being in America Create Farm Worker Shortage – Crops Suffer
#42Would there be a shortage if these jobs paid $20/hr with more comfortable work conditions?
There may not be a shortage but people would buy less of that produce, prices would go up to cover the higher wages. Unless you subsidize aggressively. Tricky market since people need food to survive.
Re: Mexicans Afraid of Being in America Create Farm Worker Shortage – Crops Suffer
#43Honest question: how do German (for example) farms manage to work, since there are virtually no Mexicans in Germany?
EU. People from Turkey, Greece, and other less-industrialized parts of the EU work as migrant harvest workers (and in other laborer jobs) in the more industrialzied parts. The northern EU countries have organized guest-worker programs.
Re: Mexicans Afraid of Being in America Create Farm Worker Shortage – Crops Suffer
#44Honest question: how do German (for example) farms manage to work, since there are virtually no Mexicans in Germany?
Subsidies and trade barriers.
Re: Mexicans Afraid of Being in America Create Farm Worker Shortage – Crops Suffer
#45Re: Mexicans Afraid of Being in America Create Farm Worker Shortage – Crops Suffer
#46Would there be a shortage if these jobs paid $20/hr with more comfortable work conditions?
There may not be a shortage but people would buy less of that produce, prices would go up to cover the higher wages. Unless you subsidize aggressively. Tricky market since people need food to survive.
Is it? How do other countries get produce without cheap illegal immigrant labor?
Re: Mexicans Afraid of Being in America Create Farm Worker Shortage – Crops Suffer
#47In two recent conversations I was told that the coyete[1] rates are $10,000 from El Salvador and $8,000 from Mexico. The Mexican fellow told me he wouldn't return to the US not only because the rates were high too but the smugglers now seem more menacing. The fellow used to perform home construction in the Bay Area. Incidentally, a recent report in the area cited labor shortages as the #2 road block in the SF builder industry.
The US administration seems to believe that our economic growth was cash constrained, hence the massive corporate tax cut. But for many industries growth is labor constrained.
[1] Colloquial phrase for Central American human traffickers.
Re: Mexicans Afraid of Being in America Create Farm Worker Shortage – Crops Suffer
#48We're seeing the same thing in England, with seasonal farm workers not coming over.
I think the problem in the UK is that this kind of work has become monopolised by gang-masters who have an interest in recruiting workers from the poorest areas of the EU.
I'm not so sure there is any great shortage of willing workers at the moment but it may be a problem in the future once free-movement comes to an end?
As has been mentioned about the US above, there is this myth, propagated by the media, that natives aren't interested, are too lazy and so on...
Truth is that farmers have gotten away with exploiting cheap labour and they don't want it to end. You try getting a job today, as a UK native, picking vegetables and you'll likely face a brick wall.
We didn't have any problems before when people could do casual seasonal work for a fair days pay. When the source of cheap labour dries up we'll likely go back to not having problems. Just a few fat farmers will be slightly miffed about it.
Re: Mexicans Afraid of Being in America Create Farm Worker Shortage – Crops Suffer
#49Honest question: how do German (for example) farms manage to work, since there are virtually no Mexicans in Germany?
they too use cheap labor from the east (poland, ukraine, czechia, slovakia, ...)
Re: Mexicans Afraid of Being in America Create Farm Worker Shortage – Crops Suffer
#50America produces twice than it consumes. Will the farms suffer perhaps, will Americans starve? no. Should the farms adapt, Yes!
Hey I am not going to feel bad, that McDonald does not have a Dollar Menu any more. May be the market forces are the right medicine for the "obesity" problems America is facing.