Posted on 09/18/2005 2:03:43 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
I watched a most interesting show on History channel, last night. Entitled, "Wrath of God", it showed some cat5 hurricanes from history.
In one that hit in the 30's, there were thousands killed. The survivors were told that the only way they could eat, was to help gather the bodies. They carried their children, and other family members to pyres, where they kept burning the remains.
It was surely a different time, and a different people...
LOL! Thank you - I missed that. I need to be told that since I "eat," I "need illegals" again.
I've no idea about crop subsidies. I'm the systems admin where I work, and deal with the computers that handle payroll, inventory and production. Which is why I know a bit about our labor.
If anything, we've had production problems due to the cool weather early this summer.
Which confirms what you've heard, tertiary01.
If you are referring to the Chief Quisling, he continues in timeout. It's either a suspension (short timeout--slap on the wrist) or, he finally pissed off the wrong people and got himself banned.
Consistent with past practices, I suspect it's the former rather than the latter. The quislings usually get the slap on the wrist while our guys often get the chair.
Where are they gonna pass the cost of that increase to? The consumer? HAH! Thats a laugh. The places they sell to will tell them to screw off in a second and buy from another country.
You see son..farmers, like loggers are on the bottom of the heap. They cant pass their cost onto anyone as their aint NOBODY to pass it on to.
All I know is that there are fat plump, grapes sitting on the vines getting devoured by birds and insects because the weather has been too cold for them to "sugar up".
A post WWI song is "How you goin' to get 'em down on the farm after they've seen Paree"
Can welfare recipients be moved into seasonal farm jobs?
In testimony before the House immigration subcommittee on May 12, 1999,
Jim Holt, a lobbyist for farmers seeking guest workers, said that, "Growers
themselves, most notably the Nisei Farmers League in the San Joaquin Valley,
have tried to augment their labor supply by recruiting welfare recipients"
with little success. Holt testified that welfare reform may eventually reduce
the supply of farm workers, as the option of obtaining welfare assistance
in the off-season disappears: "Some seasonal farmworkers currently depend
on the combination of farm work in-season and welfare assistance during the
off-season… Seasonal farmworkers who supplement
their earnings with welfare will be forced into permanent non-agricultural
jobs ."(emphasis added)
Some welfare experts speculate that the surest way for
Central Valley residents to stay off welfare is to leave the valley. Several
Central Valley counties offer relocation bonuses to current welfare recipients,
especially refugees, who leave the valley for jobs elsewhere.
http://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/comments.php?id=398_0_2_0
At any time in the last twenty years you can easily find farmers who complain of a lobar shortage because they're disorganized and lazy.
If you drive the secondary, rural roads of the central valley from 5:30am to 6:30am any morning you'd think you were on the 210 near Pasadena. These narrow, two lane roads are chocked with farm labor vans and caravans of work crews in passenger cars loaded with 6 occupants.
They're all standing in line at Home Depot making purchases for their businesses in mine....
Bingo! The problem is that the construction and landscape companies get off free. President Bush has not arrested any of the FELONS for employing illegal workers. It is a violation of his oath of office.
I'm all for eliminating the socialist government safety net, butt feel sorry for the employers who have to hire the cut loose welfare recipients. Maybe that is needed to make SS frauds and leeches on unemployment get off their butts and get a job but it also forces drug addicts, criminals, and the insane into the workforce.
Personally I'm not happy about working to support the retirement of irresponsible old people either. That too is paying people not to work.
Now they are driving down the wages of carpenters, truck drivers, machinists, etc. It might seem fine to you if you don't have the sort of job that can have its wages driven down by this ( jobs that make the worker sweat ), but it would be political insanity for Republicans to concede these voters to another party that will happily claim them. This would likely be a conservative third party in the 2008 Presidential election if the Republicans give us anything resembling GW Bush next time.
It is also unfair. The relationship between employer and employee isn't a balanced one struck on an honest contract when the employers can see to it that an endless supply of cheap labor can be brought in to the country to hold down wages.
A company can only increase wages if they can also raise prices without losing market share. Otherwise profit is reduced. If profit is reduced to a point where it is more profitable to invest elsewhere then capital flows elsewhere...often times overseas where labor is cheaper and profit margins higher.
Yeah I remember all those innovations during the Great Depression...Bigger world wars, the spread of fascism and socialism, and the New Deal in the USA.
Through out the ages it has been well known that famines are the harbingers of technological advancement.
[/sacasism off]
The old saying goes "necessity is the mother of invention," but there is no need to replace workers with machines. There are many people who would be willing to come to the US work the feilds and leave. We choose not to admit them. There is no need to farm within the borders of the USA. There is no need to invest money in a low profit venture. There is no need to have an abundance of food. People can live on rice just fine.
I do not know of any economist who believes economic growth is increased by a shortage of labor.
Really? The OVERWHELMING majority of folks signing up for Bennies in Katrina-land sure as hell don't look or sound like illegal aliens to me.
As far as truck drivers are concerned, I know folks who are offering $50,000 a year and still can't find folks to fill those jobs.
Their at home depot, buggin me.
I agree with you.
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