What would happen if we didn't have foreigners to pick crops? A look at Japan

100% absurd of course. The richer we get the more people on the margins can survive so there will always be people to pick food, but since labor is only 5% of retail price it is not an issue anyway. Do you understand now?

 

But if the unprincipled/greedy farmer pays his workforce slave wages, but charges his retail outlets the same prices for his products that he would charge them if he were paying the workforce fair wages, then those slave wages must enhance his profits?

 

Not quite true! Use of immigrant labour was pursued here before any consumer price effect. The traditional labour markets were destroyed as profit opportunity was presented. Reductions in margins, encouraged by supermarket bargaining power, came later.

 

That's a whole lot of if's.

 

Please explain why people will work for your 'slave wages'? Why will people accept a 'slave labor' job?

BTW; a farmer does not need to be 'unprincipled or greedy' when determining wages...and this goes for all businesses! All a business needs to do is pay wages that allow them to hire and sustain the necessary labor force. The supply and demand of labor basically determines the compensation. As long as people will 'voluntarily' work for your 'slave wages', there is nothing wrong! If people refuse your 'slave wages' then business must increase the compensation until they can hire and sustain a labor force.

BTW2; A worker 100% accepts or rejects a wage offer. This same worker has 0% say how the business earns profits and what they do with those profits...

 

My statement cannot be debated! I said "YOU ignore the fact that a farmer does not care what the labor prices are...as long as the consumer will pay the price! No business cares what the wages are...as long as the consumer will pay the price!"

Philosophically, a business does not care what the costs might be, which include labor, as long as the business can compete and earn profits. It is the consumer who determines if the business has demand.

A business in the effort to control costs and remain competitive, should always review their costs and negotiate or innovate for lower costs as applicable. Labor is one of these costs, many times being a major cost, so companies must seek all options to monitor and modify these costs...

 

And I illustrated how, despite consumers being prepared to pay the price, farmers deliberately changed hiring practices to reduce wages. Sounds like they did care what the labour prices were!

 

We would have to pay what food actually costs, -the real price.

 

I'll bite. How much is the "real cost" of food?

 

no they don't really care as long as all farmers have to pay the same wages. What they do care about is trying to get a cost advantage over the competition. Now do you understand?

 

the real price is what you pay in supermarket. If picking labor got too high our food would be imported and again we'd pay the new real price.

 

sure it does, if costs are too high customers don't buy.

 

wrong, farmers cant charge same price when his costs go down. he must lower his price or competitor will to drive him out of business.

if a business could charge what it wanted regardless of cost everything would cost $1 million. Do you understand how Republican capitalism works now??

 

Whatever the market will bear, -like everything else. You're not going to boycott food are you?

 

Simply because of the differences between an indigenous worker, who has mortgage/rent to pay, as well as utility bills and in all likelihood, a family to raise; whereas most migrants workers are unmarried and live with 10 others in a caravan, and therefore have no such ancillary expenditures, so can easily undercut 'the going rate for the job' in their own favour?

 

Yes thank you, it works on the principle of supply and demand. In other words nobody will be demanding to pay $1 million for something when other suppliers are offering the same thing for a fraction of that? Next question??

 

I understand you know nothing about it. This wasn't about competition, it was about engineering economic rents. The shift in employment did not reflect a squeeze on margins (that came later), it reflected effort to inflate profit

 

Everyone in business should care about their business costs! But my statement was philosophical; it's the consumer who ultimately decides the business model and associated costs...

 

I think you need to learn some about immigrants, and how people live, and understand that ALL people have the same needs and problems! For you to stereotype that immigrants don't have similar overhead as others is ignorant. Immigrants function in the same society and system as Americans. For every immigrant you can prove to me gets something for nothing from the US I'll give you 10 Americans who are also cheating the system...

 

So we can ignore how the owner or farmer benefits from economic rents? I think not!

 

Two wrongs don't make a right? But I know better than try to make a radical liberal like you obviously are see reason, so I'll just remain in my 'ignorance', and you in your self-righteousness, and ne'er the twain shall meet.

 

Liberals are disgusting treasonous Nazi sheep. Why are they brainwashed into thinking that illegals are are 10 times
better than Americans? Because the larger illegal community will vote for them and help them to help subvert our country into communism!

 

Chortle, chortle! That's like wearing pink slippers with an orange cardigan

 

radical liberal would be a communist like Sanders. Wm Buckley Jr. called himself a radical conservative.

 

Yep, there are indeed those spouting idiotic comment that shows complete ignorance of basic political economy.