It's becoming a familiar story. Across the Northwest, farmers are uncertain they'll have enough workers to harvest labor-intensive crops this year.Fazio projects a 5 to 10 percent shortage of the roughly 50,000 cherry, pear and apple pickers needed this summer and fall to harvest what may be near-record crops. Although based in Washington state, Fazio said he often hears from Oregon farmers that the two states are in the same fix.
Well, golly gee, let me whip out my trusty pencil. Let's see...Oregon's population is 3,871,859. The unemployment rate is 8.6%...da da da...carry the five...okay okay....8 x 8 is 64....stick tongue outside of mouth and scratch forehead...oops...erase and sweep off paper with side of hand...yep!
That's 332,980 pickers! How easy is that? People have two choices; pick the crop or not receive a welfare/UE check for that month.
I know. I'm a rebel. A right wing radical. A...a...NUTJOB! Working is for dopes. It's heartless of me to suggest otherwise, innit it?
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| Hood River strawberry pickers, backbreaking work once done by Americans. |
How heartless of you!
ReplyDeleteIn reality, i think it would be a fantastic experience, especially for young people. It will teach them to work hard so they do not have to do that job all of theirs lives, and it will teach them that there is still hard labor required to maintain our society. Good lesson on both points.
I picked berries as a kid, for part of one summer while visiting my grandparents in Oregon. It's not fun. It taught me that I didn't want to do it as an adult, BUT I would if I had to.
ReplyDeleteAmazing what people will do when they are responsible for feeding themselves. I would not want to do it either, but I know I would -- and could -- if I had to do it.
ReplyDeleteHey! They're entitled to their entitlements. They's not gettin' off the couch any time soon...
ReplyDeleteA sorry state of affairs, but the major reason for the economic conditions in the country today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to the histoical society pictures, Lady Red - that gave me quite a long time of looking back.
The pictures are grand, aren't they DWT? I really enjoyed them as well. :)
ReplyDeleteEarl, you're right. So MANY people are glued to their couches these days.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I was chatting with the nice lady who owns the salon where I get my hair done. She had hired a new gal a month or so ago; the gal already quit...saying she said she didn't want to work that hard. Huh? And she wasn't some young chick either! She was nearly my age! WTH???
It's a pitiful situation out there. Just pitiful.