You think a robotic strawberry picker is right around the corner? Keep dreaming.
If the cheap labor were to be kicked out, the price of labor that was really needed would go up, and that would bring additional workers into the labor force, workers for whom $5/hour is not enough to make it worth their while to work.
If the price of labor goes up, demand on the productive part of the economy goes up, too. You get price increases as more expensive labor competes in the market to purchase goods and services. In the end more goods and services are consumed by this "native" labor to produce the same amount of goods and services as before. That's a net loss in production.
Fact is the United States gains greatly from illegal immigrants.
Uh it's closer than you think but the unions don't want a more mechanized approach to manual labor.
If the cheap labor were to be kicked out, the price of labor that was really needed would go up, and that would bring additional workers into the labor force, workers for whom $5/hour is not enough to make it worth their while to work. If the price of labor goes up, demand on the productive part of the economy goes up, too. You get price increases as more expensive labor competes in the market to purchase goods and services. In the end more goods and services are consumed by this "native" labor to produce the same amount of goods and services as before. That's a net loss in production.
More nonsense. The same kind of crap used to be said by plantation owners about slavery. Couldn't expect to remain "economically competitive" without it. The fact remains that taking slavery out of the equation proved to be the best thing for the agricultural industry because it forced the damn plantation owners to finally begin to modernize their approach to farming. The same kind of caveat applies to the use of today's illegals.
The U.S. does not profit from illegals.
Correction: Opinion
Hey, thanks for pointing out that I can gain by doing something illegal. I guess when someone breaks into your home and steals all your stuff, they gain quite a bit too. Nevermind the illegal part of all this, after all, thats just a word right?
Without illegals, agriculture producers would have no choice but to adapt or die, therefore automating production.
If the price of labor goes up, demand on the productive part of the economy goes up, too.
Why would the price of labor rise if agriculture producers consolidated or automated their operations?
Fact is the United States gains greatly from illegal immigrants.
Fact is that illegals are a national security threat and it's too bad you care more about your pocketbook than the Constitution.