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Farm labor - from best to worst

Let’s look at some different forms of labor and how they affect the millions of Americans who buy food every day.


Best: Full automation. GPS guided tractors and similar tech bring labor costs per unit close to zero. That drives food prices down, making it affordable hundreds of millions of Americans.


Good: Cheap migrant labor. Labor costs are higher than automation but still relatively low. When automation isn’t feasible, cheap migrant labor helps keep food prices reasonable.


Bad: Domestic labor at high wages. While Americans can do farm work, most aren’t willing to do it for low wages. When employers must pay significantly more, the cost per unit rises sharply. This can raise food prices to the point where many low-income consumers struggle to feed their families, forcing them to sacrifice other essentials just to eat.


Worst: Unionized labor monopolies. When unions control the labor supply, they can and will demand inflated wages and benefits. In industries with tight margins like agriculture, that means soaring labor costs and a major spike in consumer prices. The result? Food would become unaffordable for hundreds of millions of Americans.

Of course, not every increase in labor cost results in a one to one increase in consumer prices. The degree to which costs are passed on depends on price elasticity - how sensitive food demand is to price changes. But for something essential like food, where demand is relatively inelastic, higher input costs will hit consumers very hard.

This pattern doesn’t just apply to agriculture - it’s a general rule across all industries. When labor costs are artificially inflated, prices rise, and consumers lose.

And remember, we are all consumers.
 
All you have done is demonstrate that at best you have the comprehension skill of a 5 year old and at worst that you will try the most deceitful of fallacies by quote mining. The fact that he has been hurt at other jobs does not mean that he has not also been harmed at amazon. Which the article quite clearly states he has. Your arguments are weak and based on a lie. But that is all you have, weak arguments.
The fact that he has been hurt at other jobs is what I posted which you called "bullshit lies."
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Tell us some more about the "comprehension skill" thing!:ROFLMAO:
 
All you have done is demonstrate that at best you have the comprehension skill of a 5 year old and at worst that you will try the most deceitful of fallacies by quote mining. The fact that he has been hurt at other jobs does not mean that he has not also been harmed at amazon. Which the article quite clearly states he has. Your arguments are weak and based on a lie. But that is all you have, weak arguments.
It isn't quote mining to take a quote from the article you linked. You're the one that resorted to childish insults instead of admitting your mistake.
 
Let’s look at some different forms of labor and how they affect the millions of Americans who buy food every day.


Best: Full automation. GPS guided tractors and similar tech bring labor costs per unit close to zero. That drives food prices down, making it affordable hundreds of millions of Americans.


Good: Cheap migrant labor. Labor costs are higher than automation but still relatively low. When automation isn’t feasible, cheap migrant labor helps keep food prices reasonable.


Bad: Domestic labor at high wages. While Americans can do farm work, most aren’t willing to do it for low wages. When employers must pay significantly more, the cost per unit rises sharply. This can raise food prices to the point where many low-income consumers struggle to feed their families, forcing them to sacrifice other essentials just to eat.


Worst: Unionized labor monopolies. When unions control the labor supply, they can and will demand inflated wages and benefits. In industries with tight margins like agriculture, that means soaring labor costs and a major spike in consumer prices. The result? Food would become unaffordable for hundreds of millions of Americans.

Of course, not every increase in labor cost results in a one to one increase in consumer prices. The degree to which costs are passed on depends on price elasticity - how sensitive food demand is to price changes. But for something essential like food, where demand is relatively inelastic, higher input costs will hit consumers very hard.

This pattern doesn’t just apply to agriculture - it’s a general rule across all industries. When labor costs are artificially inflated, prices rise, and consumers lose.

And remember, we are all consumers.

What happens when the majority of workers are permanently unemployable due to automation in the economy?

Should those people just be expected to starve quietly?
 
Where's the evidence for this as even a possibility?

Automation and artificial intelligence is continually improving. You said it yourself that capitalists are going to want to cut labor costs any chance they get, so they are going to push for greater and greater automation.

Eventually we will get to the point where machines are designing the machines that program the machines that service the machines that provide services and create goods. The only human in the loop will be the capitalist who collects the proceeds of the sale.

What happens then? You oppose anything like minimum income or welfare programs. So will the permanently unemployable be expected to just die without protest rather than impose on the “property rights” of the rich?
 
It isn't quote mining to take a quote from the article you linked. You're the one that resorted to childish insults instead of admitting your mistake.
It is when he tries to change the meaning of that quote.
 
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