Latest Breaking News

I'm 69. Back when I was a kid, I babysat for $1 an hour per kid. I got a job at Dairy Queen when I was 16 for minimum wage, $1.50 an hour. I put my tiny paychecks in my passbook savings account. Now, many students don't work in fast food because of the hours required. The breakfast shift starts at 5 am and the dinner shift works til 10 pm IF the place isn't open 24 hours.

In rural areas, young people may still harvest crops for "pocket money", but are there enough of those high school and college students NOW to harvest ALL the crops in the area at peak freshness before they rot? Can they work sunup to sundown? Have you watched "Nomadland"? They showed how many migrant SENIOR CITIZENS are working at seasonal harvests, under miserable, dangerous conditions. Others work seasonal jobs at Amazon warehouses, standing and walking on concrete warehouse floors 8 or more hours a day.

This isn't just an issue in the U.S. In Europe they often depend on the migrant Roma (gypsy) workers. Forcing farmers to pay more isn't necessarily going to solve the problem, because they would have to pass their increased costs onto their buyers and on down the line, from grocery stores to restaurants. Since farm workers have EAT, raising their pay while raising the cost of groceries is kind of a zero sum game, at best. At some point, whether it's students or immigrants (legal or undocumented) workers just decide it's not worth it.