John Carney writes in CNBC on the Phony Farm Labor Crisis that predictions of crops-rotting-in-the-fields doom for farmers because of a purported illegal alien shortage didn't quite come true:
Let’s start with California. The San Francisco Chronicle had warned:
Farmers across California are experiencing the same problem: Seasonal workers who have been coming for decades to help with the harvest, planting and pruning have dropped off in recent years. With immigration crackdowns, an aging Mexican population, drug wars at the border and a weakened job market in the United States, the flow of migrants has stopped and may actually have reversed, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research firm that has been studying the trend.
So what happened?
Farm profits, what the Ag Department calls “net cash income,” in California rose from $11.1 billion in 2010 to $16.1 in 2011, an eye-popping 45 percent growth.
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"Farm profits, what the Ag Department calls “net cash income,” in California rose from $11.1 billion in 2010 to $16.1 in 2011, an eye-popping 45 percent growth."
Eh, probably something to do with much of the rest of the country being mired in drought.
[Politicians and civil servants] across California are experiencing the same problem ... With immigration crackdowns, an aging Mexican population, drug wars at the border and a weakened job market in the United States, the flow of [future electoral constituents] has stopped and may actually have reversed ...
Presumably that's due to the rise in commodity prices.
OT: Jose Canseco on steroids, Lance Armstrong, and vampires:
http://www.vice.com/read/jos-can-say-so--lance-armstrong-steroids-and-why-id-become-a-vampire
"I’ve said this before and I’ll say it a million times if I have to: Steroids and other supplements don’t make you a super athlete. I have proof: my identical twin brother, Ozzie. Genetically, he’s the same as me—or at least closer than anyone could be. He used the same type of steroids I used and in equal amounts, and we followed the same workout routine and diet. So why was he just an average player? Why didn’t he have success in the major leagues? Why didn’t he hit 42 home runs and become a superstar? I think it’s so hypocritical when athletes are found to be using steroids, the media frames it like they’d be nothing without the juice.
Most people have no idea what accomplishments like Lance’s require: the hours of training, the dedication, the mindset, and the psychology behind being the best. For some board of flabby officials to strip him of all of his awards is just crazy. It makes you think: If we, as a society and as a species, are constantly striving to become better, smarter, and live longer, then why are steroids so bad?
Liquor and tobacco will kill you, and of course they’re legal. But steroids, growth hormones, and enhancement chemicals that have the potential to help you live better and longer illegal just like cocaine and heroin. That needs to be changed soon if we want to continue to push the human body to its physical limits.
My bottom line, and I think most people’s bottom line if they really think about it, is this: If something enhances athletes’ performances, it also makes their sport better and more entertaining. And without the fans—who at the end of the day just want to be entertained—all sports are nothing. Fans deserve to see records being broken and human beings pushing themselves beyond their limits.
Regardless of steroids, what it comes down to is what kind of engine a player has inside. So if you start with a 500-horsepower engine, maybe you’ll get an extra 50 or 100 horsepower by using high-octane fuel. If you drink liquor, eat improperly, and use recreational drugs you’re engine is going to sputter and overheat easily. If you eat right, workout hard, and take the right amount of supplements and additives to maximize your engine’s performance then you’re going to tear ass down the highway, and in my opinion that’s exactly what professional athletes should be allowed to do.
Right now I’m doing TRT—testosterone replacement therapy. When men hit 40 their testosterone levels begin to decrease, which is evolution’s way of telling you that you’re starting to slowly die. I take it to keep my levels on par with what I had in my 20s and 30s. And the way I see it, if your body isn’t producing enough testosterone there’s no reason why you shouldn’t acquire it externally, through an injection. We’re pre-programmed to die; there’s a genetic computer chip inside of us that will dictate how long a life will be. Maybe we can hack that chip with the right additives, and instead of living to 80 or 90 it becomes possible for the average person to live till 100.
Nothing organic lives forever. It’s an impossibility. But, given the opportunity, I’d definitely want to live for hundreds of years. Who the hell wants to die? I’m a huge sci-fan fan, and I love vampire movies. One thing I never understood is why anyone wouldn’t want to be bitten by a vampire. It’s like, what the fuck? Are you kidding me? I’d become a vampire in a heartbeat. They’re immortal, they can fly, and they can time-travel… what’s so bad about wanting to become one? What’s the worst thing that can happen? You have to eat a few people now and then? That’s not so bad. The only downfall I can think of is that you’d outlive your children, but, of course, you’d do your best to make sure they became immortal vampires too."
without the fans—who at the end of the day just want to be entertained—all sports are nothing
Anybody who "just want(s) to be entertained" is a not a sports fan and should go to the movies or to professional wrestling.
But just think how much money they could have made with more "undocumented workers".
la griffe has been updated with a new article concluding that hispanic crime rate is quite close to white rate.
http://www.lagriffedulion.f2s.com/hispanic.htm
the introdution to the article:
"Madam President, honored guests, delegates to the national convention of the Union of Nationalist Zapatistas, ladies and gentlemen, I need scarcely tell you how proud I am to be invited to present this evening’s lecture at the UNZ national convention. "
What??! I thought the mass media was completely trustworthy, unbiased, and had our best interests at heart? I'm going to have to reevaluate my entire belief system!
I never believed in the rotting crops nonsense. Somehow Americans survived all this time without a flood of illegals doing the work they somehow can't do.
drought in other areas raise price of produce?
http://www.nas.org/articles/against_diversity
Right now I’m doing TRT—testosterone replacement therapy. When men hit 40 their testosterone levels begin to decrease, which is evolution’s way of telling you that you’re starting to slowly die
65+, that's when you really decline. This idea that we have insufficient testosterone unless we have the testosterone we had in our 20s is silly IMO. You need the testosterone when you are 18-30 for fighting wars and courtship.
By the time you are 35 you should be settling down to raise a family. What is the need for the testosterone of a 20 year old? Instead of fighting and f***ing, you need to be a productive adult and stay alive to keep your family protected.
Everyone does get immortality in a sense, and it's through our children. The body, the person, is just a vessel for the DNA, the assets and the worldly knowledge fit to pass on. Looking at trying to make your whole life like it was in your 20s is just selfish and ultimately pointless IMO.
They are turning now to Central Americans since they are poorer than Mexicans and have experience with farm work, oh well.
Man, I thought PX Ryan's speech last night was flat; I think Clint Eastwood just cost you guys the election.
http://chronicle.com/article/Son-of-a-Lesbian-Mother-Backs/133992/
drought in other areas raise price of produce?
Well, sure, but would it have mattered if the crops were left to rot in the fields?
One minute into Romney's speech he says we are a nation of immigrants. It never ends. I turned it off.
Anybody who "just want(s) to be entertained" is a not a sports fan and should go to the movies or to professional wrestling.
Wouldn't the sports fan prefer to watch sports because he finds it more entertaining than the movies or pro wrestling?
la griffe has been updated with a new article concluding that hispanic crime rate is quite close to white rate.
Isn't he supposed to be a semi-public figure using a pseudonym? Is he Unz himself?
There was no drought in 2011, SFAIK. That began this year. Where I lived last year we had record precipitation.
a griffe has been updated with a new article concluding that hispanic crime rate is quite close to white rate.
Aren't criminal gangs a major driver for the incidence of violent crime?
As everyone knows, there are many large Hispanic gangs like MS-13. OTOH, white gangs have virtually disappeared. The Westies are long gone, the Chicago Gaylords retired from activity a generation ago, the various "mafias" have decimated by the Feds and the remaining members have a median age of 70.
Maybe it's just a sly dig at Unz and the math is a hoax.
In California only a handful of gangs, there was a white supremists in Orange County that killed a member on gangland but the only problem is 85 percent of the gangs in Orange County are Hispanic, next is Asian. Black gangs like the bloods and crips are dropping in membership in states like California and Texas. The biker gangs in California are 55 and over, Hell's Angels, and the Mexican Mongols
Truth said...
Man, I thought PX Ryan's speech last night was flat; I think Clint Eastwood just cost you guys the election.
The voice of the neutral, moderate, impartial center speaks!
I get the impression the lefty batsignal has gone out - "Everybody say that the Eastwood speech was a flop! We have to control the narrative!"
la griffe has been updated with a new article concluding that hispanic crime rate is quite close to white rate.
http://www.lagriffedulion.f2s.com/hispanic.htm
That looks like a parody of Ron Unz. Of course, it's hard to parody Unz. But calling him "Prodigy" just about carries it off.
"I get the impression the lefty batsignal has gone out -"
You're telling me that you actually thought that speech was good?
Man, I thought PX Ryan's speech last night was flat;
The Wisconsin accent doesn't help.
You're telling me that you actually thought that speech was good?
You're telling me that something which might be described as "thought" flickered across your synapses?
You're a bot, Troot. Everything you have to say is as boringly predictable as the sun rising.
"You're telling me that something which might be described as "thought" flickered across your synapses?"
Is there a good reason you neglected to answer the question?
Truth,
I think Clint Eastwood's speech was embarrassing, but then so is your desire to hinge the entire election on it.
Nobody is going to care about or remember Clint's speech in a week. The rambling speech was a small personal embarrassment for the eighty-year-old Clint Eastwood, not a political embarrassment for the Republican Party or Mitt Romney.
"an aging Mexican population"
They need mass immigration, and lots of it.
"The Wisconsin accent doesn't help."
Jesus Christ, what's wrong with his accent? First they ragged on Sarah Palin's accent in 08, now it's Ryan's accent in 2012. The SWPL crowd is getting as bad as upper class Brits in judging by accent.
Interesting about the farming, given that the farming industry is allegedly one of the main backers of open immigration. If reduced migration is the cause of the farm industry's recent growth, this basically means that farmers have been pushing for open borders against their own economic interests. Are farmers really that stupid, or is it unfair to blame them for immigration?
"I think Clint Eastwood's speech was embarrassing, but then so is your desire to hinge the entire election on it..."
That was TOTAL facetiousness on my part. I just like making you guys nervous, It's kind of a hobby.
The bigger point is; I hope C.E. came up with and executed that whole clusterfuck on his own, if the RNC leadership knew what he was going to do in advance and didn't stop him, Mittens doesn't have a chance.
Then again, they are the same general coterie of morons who have come up with these in view of their southern, tea-party, and right wing constituencies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kopRTfWeNo&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1YFdGQqJdE&feature=player_embedded
Well, this is what might happen there are several farm guest worker programs on the book some requirement them to support housing of the workers. Perhaps getting rid of those requirements and changing some of the guest worker farming would have been better than have they hire and complain over the illegal situation. As I mention Mexico is dropping as a source of farmwokers but they can get plenty from Central America.
Interesting about the farming, given that the farming industry is allegedly one of the main backers of open immigration.
Allegedly? Allegedly?
Is there a good reason you neglected to answer the question?
Is there a a good reason you neglected to answer the question, you fascist thug?
Notice that Russell Pierce try to get back but couldn't. Ben Quayle couldn't as well and Will Cordon lost to Jeff Flake, I think the old treason lobby is working to changed Arizona.
jgress,
"If reduced migration is the cause of the farm industry's recent growth, this basically means that farmers have been pushing for open borders against their own economic interests."
I think you're drawing the wrong conclusion from this article.
In the short term transaction between those who hire and those who are hired, cheaper and more plentiful labor is always better if you're an employer. What this report shows is that there are many other factors affecting farmers' profits that can neutralize and even overcome the disadvantage of somewhat higher labor inputs.
Don't mistake a correlation for a cause.
"Eh, probably something to do with much of the rest of the country being mired in drought."
"Presumably that's due to the rise in commodity prices."
Uh, to take advantage of the drought/commodity prices, you still have to harvest stuff.
As it happens, California's number 1 export crop is rice, and number two are nuts. Both are highly mechanized.
When I first came to California I learned of the "short handle hoe" issue. It was considered cruel that the farm owners made the braceros use an implement with such a short handle that they had to bend over and thus strain their backs. By bending over the workers saw the vegetables better and made more accurate cuts.
That was a long time ago - 1964. I would have thought that in nearly half a century someone would have invented an agricultural machine that could harvest vegetables. I realize that it would have to be a complex machine but existing agricultural machines are all complex.
The growers have had no incentive to develop such a machine because they could just import Mexicans and transfer much of the expense to the taxpayers.
Instead of hare brained green solar projects or wind mills, wouldn't it make more sense for the government to invest in machines that would eliminate the need for alien workers?
Albertosaurus
$16 billion is larger than the entire GDP of about 70 countries.
'Are farmers really that stupid, or is it unfair to blame them for immigration?"
It is fair to blame anyone hiring an illegal.
"this basically means that farmers have been pushing for open borders against their own economic interests. Are farmers really that stupid, or is it unfair to blame them for immigration?"
Short-term interests. Short-term competition.
If a stupid, greedy farmer is only looking at the short term and hiring cheap illegals then an intelligent and less greedy one can't successfully invest in innovation because they'll be out of business before it bears fruit.
In that kind of situation the free market mechanism breaks down and you need to have government action either to enforce the border so the farmers are forced to pay higher wages which in turn forces them to innovate to get costs down again or for the government to do the research into technological solutions itself.
Obviously a treachorous government won't do either of those things because turning white people into the minority is their aim.
"Regardless of steroids, what it comes down to is what kind of engine a player has inside. So if you start with a 500-horsepower engine, maybe you’ll get an extra 50 or 100 horsepower by using high-octane fuel. If you drink liquor, eat improperly, and use recreational drugs you’re engine is going to sputter and overheat easily. If you eat right, workout hard, and take the right amount of supplements and additives to maximize your engine’s performance then you’re going to tear ass down the highway, and in my opinion that’s exactly what professional athletes should be allowed to do."
Nope. Testosterone is more than a supplement. Exogenous Test will let a female athlete dominate.
""an aging Mexican population"
They need mass immigration, and lots of it." - Don't they mean an aging mexican-american/hispanic-american population? the mask must have slipped off a bit.
"'Are farmers really that stupid, or is it unfair to blame them for immigration?""
Actually, the people to blame are the idiot suburbanites -- the 46 year old guys too lazy to mow their own lawn, the soccermoms who can't clean their own houses, the families that will drive 10 minutes to a carwash, wait 45 minutes for their auto to be washed, and drive 10 minutes back home again instead of washing the jalopy their damn selves.
Then the idiots will complain about California's taxes and failing schools.
I was impressed ro see someone on an MSM site calling this BS out. This skepticism toward press releases of interested parties is what I'd like to see more of in journalism. I suspect part of why there is so little is that backing up the skepticism takes time, and most media outlets are in dire financial situations and so can't afford to pay people to do a lot of actual journalism. And obviously, if you're already hurting for money, you don't dare offend any advertisers.
"ctually, the people to blame are the idiot suburbanites -- the 46 year old guys too lazy to mow their own lawn, the soccermoms who can't clean their own houses, the families that will drive 10 minutes to a carwash, wait 45 minutes for their auto to be washed, and drive 10 minutes back home again instead of washing the jalopy their damn selves."
This is not the reason immigrants are here. And it's not the reason they aren't kicked out. Most people are for kicking out illegals.
People went to car washes long before Mexican immigration.
I don't know too many people that hire someone to clean their house.
A progressive publication mention dreamers in drag, not all dreamers would become conservative or social conservative from this statement.
They made large profits because they raised the prices. They raised the prices because supply was scarce.
@ Dave.
That's incorrect. Take a look at the numbers linked. Gross output was up. Costs were down. Profits increased.
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