12 October 2007

Now I get it!

In yesterday’s blog I wrote about the current U.S. federal administration plans to enforce the laws against hiring undocumented foreign farm workers just when the winter vegetable crop is ready for harvest. I noted that this would especially affect the state of Arizona because of their especially tough new state restrictions against employers who hire undocumented Mexican workers. As it turns out, however, I shouldn’t have worried so much about Arizona because I learned today that many of the Arizona producers are planning to move their operations across the border to Mexico where there is an adequate legal supply of cheap farm labor. After all is said and done, the growing conditions are about the same in Northern Mexico as they are in Southern Arizona. I guess that is fine for the big producers but I don’t know what that does for the rest of the Arizona agro industry. Also, what about the revenue from the things that the farm workers used to buy in Arizona and what about the sales tax revenue from those items? Is it all really worth the trouble to move everything south? How do the average people of Arizona benefit?

In any case I guess that I should feel glad that Arizona has figured out how they are going to produce the goods. Now I will just have to worry about how the tomato and onion farmers from New Jersey are going to move their operations to Mexico. Oh, yes, and what about the cranberry growers from Maine, the apple growers from the state of Washington, and the dairy farmers from New York State and Wisconsin. How are they going to move their farming operations to Mexico. Won’t the dairy farmers have to move their cows too?

I think Arizona should take their right wing nut case religious fanatic state legislature to task before the “wide open spaces” of Arizona are empty of everything but bigotry. Everybody should do what they are good at. The farms workers should work on the farms under living wages and fair labor practices and the fruit, vegetable, and dairy producers should do what they do best and that is producing food. Working together in English or in Spanish they can guarantee a brighter future and a stronger America.

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I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. I have been living in Mexico since January 6th, 1999. I am continually studying to improve my knowledge of the Spanish language and Mexican history and culture. I am also a student of Mandarin Chinese.