Posted on 09/30/2011 3:26:22 AM PDT by loucon
"We have just passed a law that conforms with federal law," he said. "We will see what happen. We expect them to do their job now and we'll see if they are going to do it."
But when only five pickers showed up Thursday morning to harvest his sweet potatoes, farmer Keith Smith saw possible ruin: the loss of his half-million dollar crop.
"They're running scared because of this new law," said Smith.
"And you're in trouble?" asked Strassman.
"I'm in trouble. Bad trouble."
Smith's 200 acres need 20 pickers, mostly Mexican nationals. "There is not enough documented people here to supply that workforce," he said.
"Most of your workers are here illegally?" asked Strassman.
"Sure," said Smith. "If they got documentation, they got a better job than working for me."
Fernando Aldaman is a Mexican national who has worked Smith's farm since 1992. Strassman asked him if everbody's scared. "Yeah," said Aldaman.
"Now are you here legally?" asked Strassman.
"No."
"Are you scared?
"Yeah I'm scared. I'm scared."
Smith's pickers make about $100 a day. He supports immigration laws -- just not this one that threatens his third-generation family farm.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
I’m thinking he pays them under the table, too so there are no taxes taken out. That’s pretty good for a days work.
Why? What stops him from paying them under the table IN CASH like he would the illegals? NOTHING.
Wonder if put up any help wanted signs or ads in the paper, or just relied on the ILLEGALS.
Pride.
Years back, they had it set up that you had to be actively looking for work and or not turn down work to be able to collect that check. Maybe they should do that during harvesting season. If a farmer needs help, you help or forfeit your check.
I have wondered about the wages they throw out in these articles. Had one from a farm in the west part of the state, $10 or so an hour... but no one would work it. Well, either you are a tyrant, or that isn’t the real pay.
That’s the kind of work God made teenagers for....
I don’t know about bribing the official, I do know tht as long as there is unemployment and welfare, few Americans are going to work in that field.
Why should they? If they accepted that job their unemployment would stop,a third of what they earned would be taxed, and every one who worked over 6 days would have to have a 1099.
Someone that lives near this guy should take the article with him and ask where he should start digging for that $100 a day and see if the guy actually pays up.. If not, then that should be the next day’s article! lol
Bingo. The supply of illegals has kept farmers from mechanizing their farms more. No reason to when you get nearly slave labor for almost free.
That would require a government that actually wanted to reduce public spending and decrease legal resident unemployment - not one that wants to grow government programs, foster permanent dependency and assure a Democrat victory.
I look at it this way, you never see a progressive worry about the effects on business when they raise the minimum wage, they only worry when labor costs go up because the supply of illegal labor dries up.
In the end , I'm sure, some judge will strike down the Ala. immigration law and we'll be back to square one.
Farmer Smith should be able to go down to the unemployment office & hire 20 able bodied people to do his picking. Anyone who refuses the work should be cut from the welfare roles permanently - let the sorry bums starve.
I am so sick of the idea of jobs Americans refuse to do. Let those who refuse to work eat dirt & sleep on the cold ground.
Prior to earning my degree, I did many dirty jobs to earn some money. I cleared ditches, filled street potholes, scrapped dead animals from the road, changed tires, worked as a carpenter’s helper, welder’s helper, sandblaster’s helper, & dug ditches.
I used to say that though I didn’t yet know what I wanted to do, I knew what I didn’t want to do for the rest of my life.
One more thing. Most people who work are too tired at the end of the day to rape, rob, & murder.
It’ll take some time for America to recover from the damage done by the federal government’s failure to enforce its immigration law. This farmer is just one who’s suffering the consequences.
Imagine if for years the IRS told sweet potato farmers it was okay to cheat on their income taxes, and then all of a sudden the feds decided to change that. This fellow would probably complain - and rightly so. But he’d still have to adjust, and we’d still have to pay more for sweet potatoes as he raised the price accordingly.
It’ll be a painful transition, but necessary to preserve this country.
They do have mechanical harvesters for potatoes. I remember back in the early 70s the farms up in NY had them. As kids, we used to bring the small potatoes home that the machines missed.
Again, it's a See-B.S. story.
Something about 1/2 of the population of the US lacks, but makes up for in a bone deep sense of entitlement.
Anybody out there believe he can’t get unemployed ‘murricans to work for $100/day??
Not when welfare pays $10k+/yr more than what this guy is offering.
One time I was drifting through a cherry orchard area. Took a job for a few days picking cherries. Those mexicans ran circles around everyone else.
Answer - chain gangs. That what was done before the illegals came.
I was pretty sure that they did but didn't want to make that comment without being certain.
When I was growing up, kids picked cotton after school and on Saturdays in my neck of the woods. Some schools even canceled school for two weeks in the fall for the height of the picking season. It wasn't just farm kids picking all that cotton either, there was demand for the "townie" kids as well and more than a few adults.
I knew plenty of kids that bought their own clothes and school supplies with the money earned. I started at age 9 doing farm labor of different kinds. You haven't lived until you have ridden a planter all day long at age 9 and eating all that dirt or baling and putting up hay as a young teenager. It didn't kill me and probably contributed to a strong work ethic.
Mechanical cotton pickers replaced the human cotton pickers (and that's a good thing)
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