Michael Pollak wrote:
> On Fri, 19 Jul 2002, John Thornton wrote:
>
> > Michael Pollak wrote:
> >
> > > So we could pay the workers in both industries a handsome wage and the
> > > cost of the goods wouldn't more than, say double?
> >
> > According to the USDA farm value share is about 20% of retail cost of
> > which labor is only part. Even if farm labor costs doubled how could
> > this double the retail price?
>
> I was figuring we'd have to much more than double the wages of migrant
> pickers or sweatshop workers to bring them up to the level of "handsome."
> But I agree: if wages are a small portion of farm costs, and farm costs
> are a fifth of retail costs, it seems wages could theoretically be raised
> enormously before the retail price was doubled.
>
> Michael