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US Crops Left To Rot As Mexicans Leave The Fields For Better-Paid Jobs
The Guardian (UK) ^ | 2-4-2006 | Dan Glasiter

Posted on 02/03/2006 7:42:50 PM PST by blam

click here to read article


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To: TheForceOfOne
"Modern Marvels: Farming Technology"

I saw that too, it was good. If I remember correctly, it was the harvesting of strawberries they thought would be one of the most difficult to automate.

41 posted on 02/03/2006 8:43:06 PM PST by blam
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To: blam
Machines, doing the jobs Mexicans won't do. lol

Puts a big hole in the "We need cheap labor from Mexico" argument. We have the technology to get the job done.
42 posted on 02/03/2006 8:46:42 PM PST by TheForceOfOne
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To: Itzlzha; flashbunny; Travis McGee; NRA2BFree; Happy2BMe; Spiff; Pelham; Das Outsider; moehoward; ...

ping


43 posted on 02/03/2006 9:00:03 PM PST by Stellar Dendrite (There's nothing "Mainstream" about the Orwellian Media!!!)
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To: the gillman@blacklagoon.com

whoops, i see you're already here


44 posted on 02/03/2006 9:01:26 PM PST by Stellar Dendrite (There's nothing "Mainstream" about the Orwellian Media!!!)
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To: ovrtaxt

Okay, now. I've read the article very carefully just to be sure. It never says Camacho is a card dealer (which would be very unlikely given casino security and gaming laws). What does he do at the casino? The article doesn't say.


45 posted on 02/03/2006 9:09:23 PM PST by mumps
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To: oceanview; blam
had we not had access to migrant farm workers at low wages all these years, someone would have invested in automated harvesting equipment.

Either that or we pay American workers what they want to pick fruit.

No one complains that we pay American citizens a lot to collect our garbage or to mine coal.

So no one should complain if we pay American citizens a lot to pick fruit.

46 posted on 02/03/2006 9:11:03 PM PST by Age of Reason
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To: mumps
"What does he do at the casino? The article doesn't say."

Ahem. They have a small garden out back.

47 posted on 02/03/2006 9:16:38 PM PST by blam
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To: DuckFan4ever

You don't ever want to live near a field of rotting cauliflower, broccoli or cabbage. There was one near our house on year and the price was too low to harvest and then we had constant rain and they couldn't disc it up. That was bad.


48 posted on 02/03/2006 9:19:49 PM PST by tiki
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To: mumps
It never says Camacho is a card dealer (which would be very unlikely given casino security and gaming laws). What does he do at the casino? The article doesn't say.

Probably janitor, dishwasher or something like that. There are low-level service jobs involving cleaning up anytime you have large crowds of customers.

Every time I have been in a casino, they had a bunch of almost-invisible people with carpet sweepers. They do a good job of keeping them inconspicuous.

49 posted on 02/03/2006 9:24:32 PM PST by CurlyDave
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To: brownsfan

don't underestimate hunger as a motivator to work. If a person has made such crummy choices in their lives that all they can get is a low paying job, then that's where they need to start. Starvation may be a good impetus to change one's anti-social behavior.


50 posted on 02/03/2006 9:24:48 PM PST by DuckFan4ever (Justice Alito. That sounds good.)
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To: DuckFan4ever

I'm willing to pay more for produce, knowing that I'm paying all the costs of producing it.


51 posted on 02/03/2006 9:25:27 PM PST by gogeo
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To: oceanview
I tell you what, you come up with the plant and the machine and you'll be rich.

They've been able to modify some veggies so they can all be ready at one time and machine picked but the ones that aren't are still hand picked. I'd love to see a machine that picks lettuce or cabbage, I can't even imagine how it would look and I'm pretty mechanical. I can imagine some very curved knives which would ride under dirt and cut the root and a belt that would pick it up. I don't think there would be much lettuce left when they got it to the packing shed. Half of it would already be rotting.

52 posted on 02/03/2006 9:26:12 PM PST by tiki
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To: brownsfan

Actually, we enjoy seeing an overdeveloped sense of entitlement crash and burn.


53 posted on 02/03/2006 9:27:54 PM PST by gogeo
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To: Fishing-guy
The unemployment rate now down to something like 4.7%. No wonder nobody wants to work in the field. It's time bring in the guest worker program.

50% of the people in the world make $2.00 or less per day. This is a reality that does not even exist as a concept with most Americans. global trading will reduce wages because of competition. Below are some people who would love to work for $7.00 hour.

Apparel Wages Around the World Approximate hourly base wages, as reported to the National Labor Committee by workers in these countries. UNITED STATES -- $8.42 (According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 1998) Bangladesh -- 1¢ Burma -- 4¢ China -- 23¢ (Living wage: 87¢ an hour) Colombia -- 70-80¢ Dominican Republic -- 69¢ El Salvador -- 59¢ (Living wage: $1.18 an hour) Guatemala -- 37-50¢ Haiti -- 30¢ (Living wage: 58¢ an hour) Honduras -- 43¢ (Living wage: 79¢ an hour) India -- 20-30¢ Indonesia -- 10¢ Malaysia -- $1.00¢ Mexico -- 50-54¢ Nicaragua -- 23¢ (Living wage: 80¢ an hour) Pakistan -- 20-26¢ Peru -- 90¢ Philippines -- 58-76¢ Romania -- 24¢ Sri Lanka -- 40¢ Thailand -- 78¢

54 posted on 02/03/2006 9:29:48 PM PST by jec41 (Screaming Eagle)
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To: gogeo
I'm willing to pay more for produce, knowing that I'm paying all the costs of producing it.

Not me. I don't want to spend any more money than I have to for food. Pay what has to be paid to get the labor done and not a dime more. If we have to pay $5 a pound for brocoli, I might eat a lot less of it. Either that or I'll plant a garden.

55 posted on 02/03/2006 9:30:50 PM PST by DuckFan4ever (Justice Alito. That sounds good.)
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To: oceanview

It might also involve genetically engineered plants that bear fruit differently.


56 posted on 02/03/2006 9:31:13 PM PST by gogeo
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To: SpaceBar

"They don't seem to want a fence, then how about a guillotine on the Capitol steps?"

I'll sharpen the blade


57 posted on 02/03/2006 9:32:48 PM PST by Leatherneck_MT (An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens.)
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To: hinckley buzzard

Exactly...if we're willing to allow them in on a temporary basis because we "need" them, we'll have to keep them because we "need" them, right?


58 posted on 02/03/2006 9:35:06 PM PST by gogeo
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To: hinckley buzzard

I don't think it will involve a large increase in prices.


59 posted on 02/03/2006 9:35:52 PM PST by gogeo
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To: tiki

no, I wouldn't be rich - not as long as migrant farm labor is around. that's exactly why no one is researching such machines.


60 posted on 02/03/2006 9:38:49 PM PST by oceanview
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