I'll be willing to eat lettuce and cabbage at $5 a head. Or I'll grow my own. It's easy and doesn't take much space. 
Posted on 05/29/2006 3:34:54 PM PDT by SJackson
OCEANSIDE, Calif. - Tomato grower Luawanna Hallstrom understands how paths cross in the shadowy world of illegal immigrant and employer.
Her three-generation family farm needed workers to harvest a crop in 2001, so it hired 300 farmhands. All their documents appeared in order, she said.
Then federal authorities found that three-fourths of the workers were illegal immigrants, and that left the peak harvest in ruins.
"People say, `You should get those employers that hire the undocumented!' Well, wait a minute. They have documents, but they're fraudulent. We are supposed to take them at face value - otherwise you get into these discrimination issues," Hallstrom said.
(Excerpt) Read more at charlotte.com ...
Obviously statistice about illegals are hard to develop, but PewHispanicCenter has done a few surveys. Among the things that stuck with me, the fact that most illegals enter the same industry in the US they worked in in Mexico, mostly agriculture, hospitality, services and construction. Good thing the jobs Americans won't do correspond with the jobs Mexican's do do.
About 40% of the job growth the last few years represents employment of illegals. Wonder if that's why low unemployment doesn't translate to political approval ratings this time around.
And, of course, Hispanics are the only group who's wages are declining. 5% in 2003-04. To be expected, cheap labor is the idea.
The Social Security Administration has a list, thought to be 400,000 to 500,000, of mismatched ss#'s, but due to a late 90s law they're not allowed to share that information with other agencies. The more important question, 10-12 million illegals generate a half million SS# mismatches, what's happening to the tax remittances for the rest?
The best part of the House bill is the establishment of a computor based ss# verification system for use by employers. Similar to databases the IRS uses for financial institutions, or that are used for firearms purchases. Name, date of birth, ss#. You match or you don't. And as long as the employer uses the system, he's off the legal hook if the documents are bogus. I'd think employers would be thrilled with lessened liability of that sort. But they don't seem to like the system. Nor do the illegals.
I'll be willing to eat lettuce and cabbage at $5 a head. Or I'll grow my own. It's easy and doesn't take much space.
Why don't you get a life, I don't need your stinking tomato's.
See post #9 - which deals with what you wrote back.
A very large percentage of them work as sub contractor's. And they work by the volume not by the hour.
"...lettuce will be $5 a head..."
Campesino picks 100 heads of lettuce an hour for $5 an hour. Cost to pick a head of lettuce: 5 cents.
I can buy lettuce for $1.28 a head.
For lettuce to be $5 a head, all else staying the same, the picker would have to be paid $3.77 a head. Times 100 heads an hour= $377.00/hour. or $754K per year, based on a 40 hour week.
Where do I sign up?
Personally I doubt a large percentage of illegals are self employed sub contractor's by any normally accepted definition. But I'll play, where are their FICA remittances? Only difference in your scenario, they're breaking the tax laws rather than their employer.
I'm looking forward to the invention of the lettuce gin.
Oh, come on. Very few Americans have the property or skill to grow their own produce. How do you expect city dwellers to grow produce? Esp. those in Northern climates?
But, for sure, states who grant benefits to illegal immigrants are causing a problem. Why not have a legal guest worker program where they don't get benefits?
The biggest problems are in Liberal states.
Interesting - is there an investigation into this? A link?
Do you really think that people are so inept as to not be able to grow tomatoes, beans, or lettuce in their own yard? We certainly grew our own where I was raised. It's a bit of work here and there, but it certainly isn't rocket science.
No kidding. We lived just outside of Pittsburgh for a couple of years, and all we had was a patio, and some containers. In the house, we also had a lovely lettuce garden year round, in pots in the kitchen window. Lettuce plants are very decorative, if well-kept.
But I like the idea of the victory garden best. We had some in our neighborhood where I grew up in the 40s and 50s. They were really great!
LOsing crops is a very small price to pay compared to the social problems that have and will be created by importring cheap labor.
What skill? You plant seeds, you weed, you water--and you're rewarded with good eats--and flowers, too, if desired. I have lived in northern climates, and gardened, as did my neighbors, I might add. The thing is, you do have to pull yourself away from the teevee and/or the video games, and you do have to invest a little elbow grease--the lazy wouldn't fare well in this endeavor.
Earth boxes produce enormous quantities of veggies in very limited space...my bell pepper plants were six feet tall last year, and produced many fat yellow and red bells...mmm-good!
Forgot to mention...I'm in the aforementioned 'northern climes'...New Hampshire.
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