Posted on 09/09/2010 7:33:42 PM PDT by pissant
For U.S. Rep. Steve King it was obviously an attack so nice that he had to use it twice.
King issued a press release in late August deriding U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for saying that without comprehensive immigration reform, American consumers will wind up spending “a lot more” for food. On Thursday, King hit the same notes while crafting his e-mail newsletter to constituents and supporters.
While interviewing with the Politico, Vilsack made the assertion that America’s relatively inexpensive foods can be linked to the immigrant workers employed by farms and other agricultural-related industries.
From Politico:
“But, if you didn’t have these folks, you would be spending a lot more — three, four or five times more — for food, or we would have to import food and have the food security risks. Neither is what Americans want. What they want is what we have. Which is why we need comprehensive immigration reform.”
King, a Republican from Kiron who is known for his strict stance against illegal immigration, took immediate exception to the comment, and has used it to allude to a grand scheme by Vilsack, President Barack Obama and other administration officials to enact blanket policy or legislation that would allow all immigrants to become citizens.
Data compiled by the USDA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to King, indicates that the cost of labor represents only 6 percent of the prices consumers pay for fresh fruits and vegetables. This statistic was also quoted in a 2007 white paper developed by the conservative Center for Immigration Studies to argue that the media was exaggerating farm labor shortages.
(Excerpt) Read more at iowaindependent.com ...
Only 4% of legal/illegal immigrants work in agriculture. This is a canard. The rest are here gutting it out, living on the dole, not assimilating, committing crimes and balkanizing.
OK. I admit it. You reeled me in like a trout.
Its horsecrap.
Only a very small percentage of vegetable crop prices are in manual labor.
For example:
If one paying, say 5c per head to pick lettuce and you double that to 10c, then the price of lettuce rises 5 cents.
Triple the pay and it rises a dime.
The price of produce does not skyrocket up double or triple because of increased wages.
you are exactly right and there is a study showing such on the net somewhere..the only way McCain can get $50 lettuce is if Congress tries to get in on the action with laws,kickbacks, taxes etc...
Not to mention taking traditionally decent paying jobs in construction and meat packing and janitorial, etc.
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