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Re:US Births Dip to 30-yr Low; Fertility Rate Sinks Further ... by slg on Thursday May 17, 2018 @04:16PM (#17095219)
>the price those crops are sold at will rise until such time as the next Eli Whitney, who is probably an HN reader, invents a machine to harvest them cheaper.

Sure, and who cares about the people who can't afford food in the meantime while we wait for the new Eli Whitney? You are proposing fixing one problem by creating numerous more problems.

Re:US Births Dip to 30-yr Low; Fertility Rate Sinks Further ... by robotrout on Thursday May 17, 2018 @04:26PM (#17095329)
I would be interested in your estimates of how much you believe produce prices would actually rise if farm workers were paid non-exploitative wages. I would also remind you that many of these poor people would be the ones receiving that higher wage.
Re:US Births Dip to 30-yr Low; Fertility Rate Sinks Further ... by slg on Thursday May 17, 2018 @04:39PM (#17095453)
Prices would only go up marginally a few percentage points, but that can be enough to break certain budgets especially when fresh food like this is already more expensive than processed and unhealthy alternatives.

You also shouldn't treat poor people as a single group. Yes, some poor people will be receiving these higher wages but no all. There are still people lost in the transition just like there would be people lost in the transition waiting for innovation from Eli Whitney.