Immigration Non-Harvest (Wall Street Journal - 7.20.07)
Peak harvest season is approaching in much of the country, and the biggest issue on the minds of many growers isn't the weather but how in the world they'll get their crops from the vine or off the tree. Thanks to Congress's immigration failure, farmers nationwide are facing their most serious labor shortage in years.
The results of Congress' immigration reform failure include:
- up to 30% of crops left to rot
- increase cost of U.S. farm goods
- export of farm operations aboard
- import of more foreign grown products
- replacement of high-value products (nuts, fruits) with highly mechanized products (corn, soy bean) distorting world markets
- disruption of North American labor markets
Americans can all blame nativists Lou Dobbs, Tom Tancredo, et al, the next time they're shocked by the prices at the grocery.
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