Food prices and immigration

Posted on 5/14/2008 by John Rove

For a while now people have been talking about rising food prices. I wonder how much of price increase can be attributed to stronger enforecment of US immigration laws. It seems like many jobs that involve food production also use a lot of immigrant labor. If Republicans ever get their fence I wonder what that will do to the cost of food.

This entry was posted in Words. Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to Food prices and immigration

  1. caveat bettor says:
    5/14/2008 at 5:15 pm

    I would say that roughly 0% of food inflation is attributable to variances in immigration law enforcement.

    I think you need to consider the negative real interest rates creating commodity bubbles, as well as ethanol policy and agricultural subsidies. I would say that 80-100% of food inflation comes from these factors.

  2. John Rove says:
    5/14/2008 at 5:34 pm

    It seems that Immigration laws would have to be a factor. The main reason people hire undocumented workers is that they work cheaper; or in some cases at least according to John McCain they are the only ones who will do the work. Any time you decrease the supply of something, in this case workers, the cost of the remaining workers will increase.
    A friend works at a golf course, according to him, they like to hire undocumented workers because when they lay them off at the end of the summer they don’t apply for unemployment benefits. If they hired legal workers they would probably have to pay higher unemployment insurance rates. Not to mention the fact that it is hard to find people who will work at a golf course for $8 per hour.
    It seems pretty likely that cheap labor helps many businesses keep their costs down, especially in places like slaughterhouses where not only are they frequentely in undesirable areas to to live but the work is pretty distasteful for most Americans.

  3. zeezil says:
    5/16/2008 at 12:23 pm

    ‘Cheap’ Tomatoes: The Fallacy
    By Digger

    The story below is brought to you from an English teacher and was written around the time of the amnesty push. Let us revisit how “cheap” tomatoes (or lettuce or grapes or substitute your favorite fruit or vegetable) are due to illegal aliens.

    CHEAP TOMATOES

    This should make everyone think, be you Democrat, Republican or
    Independent or whatever.

    From a California school teacher – – –

    “As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of: I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its student’s average lower socioeconomic and income levels.

    Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens, Huntington Park, etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools. Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I’m not talking a glass of milk and roll — but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

    I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

    I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

    I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less then 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them “Putas” (V******V) and throwing things, that the teachers were in tears.

    Free medical, free education, free food, day care etc., etc, etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements?

    To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.

    Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I’ll pay more for tomatoes.

    Americans! We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won’t have the guts to enforce it. Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?

    It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to assimilate, and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about “political correctness” that we don’t have the will to do anything about it.

    If this makes your blood boil, as it did mine, forward this to everyone you know.

    CHEAP LABOR! Isn’t that what the whole immigration issue is about?

    Business doesn’t want to pay a decent wage.

    Consumers don’t want expensive produce.

    Government will tell you Americans don’t want the jobs.

    But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase “cheap labor” is a myth, a farce, and a lie. There is no such thing as “cheap labor.”

    Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for $5.00 or 6. 00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an “earned income credit” of up to $3,200 free.

    He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent.

    He qualifies for food stamps.

    He qualifies for free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care.

    His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school.

    He requires bilingual teachers and books.

    He qualifies for relief from high energy bills.

    If they are or become, aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI. Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare. All of this is at (our) taxpayer’s expense.

    He doesn’t worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance.

    Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.

    He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits.

    Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills and his.

    The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up.

    Cheap labor! YEAH RIGHT! Wake up people!

    THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING TO THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR EITHER PARTY. AND WHEN THEY LIE TO US AND DON’T DO AS THEY SAY, WE SHOULD REPLACE THEM AT ONCE!
    http://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/002700.html

Comments are closed.