Mechanization displaces illegal alien labor - will they leave now?
Or will you and I end up paying for them? We know the answer to that, and it ticks us off.
Every time I hear that trite saying "illegal aliens only do the jobs that Americans won't do" I think of two facts that prove the argument false.
1) Americans seek out any job as long as it a) offers young workers opportunities to gain a first foothold in the job market or, b) offers a reasonable wage rate at which they can provide for their families with dignity.
2) Much of our agriculture technology has not been significantly updated since the 1950's; each illegal alien worker helps postpone the day in which our food comes from automated farms that require minimal, but more educated, labor.
Our governments'facilitation of the flood of illegal aliens not only has ramifications for our schools, healthcare, infrastructure, crime, etc., it also raises the spectre that our next generation of retirees' well-being (I'm counting me in the group) will be dependent upon legalized criminals who don't care about America, or its elders.
So, the next time some fool who cannot think the matter through yammers about something along the lines of this:
Tell them about this:
The new grapes of wrath
Diane Lindquist, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Every time I hear that trite saying "illegal aliens only do the jobs that Americans won't do" I think of two facts that prove the argument false.
1) Americans seek out any job as long as it a) offers young workers opportunities to gain a first foothold in the job market or, b) offers a reasonable wage rate at which they can provide for their families with dignity.
2) Much of our agriculture technology has not been significantly updated since the 1950's; each illegal alien worker helps postpone the day in which our food comes from automated farms that require minimal, but more educated, labor.
Our governments'facilitation of the flood of illegal aliens not only has ramifications for our schools, healthcare, infrastructure, crime, etc., it also raises the spectre that our next generation of retirees' well-being (I'm counting me in the group) will be dependent upon legalized criminals who don't care about America, or its elders.
So, the next time some fool who cannot think the matter through yammers about something along the lines of this:
"We need them! How on earth will we be able to afford lettuce if we force them to leave?"
Tell them about this:
The new grapes of wrath
Diane Lindquist, The San Diego Union-Tribune
"Pabojian has stopped hiring from among the migrants who arrive each season. Instead of the 100 workers he once took on for the monthlong process, he now has six year-round workers and a machine that finishes the harvest in half the time.
The transition many of the state's 5,500 raisin growers are making is considered the most significant innovation in the raisin harvest since the industry was established in 1873. It's also happening faster than anyone expected. Last fall, the amount of raisin acreage picked by machine increased by more than 30 percent.
Harvests of most crops raised in California are already mechanized, from beans to nuts and some citrus. And experts predict that machines will soon pick more of the fruits and vegetables now routinely picked by hand."
