Quote:
Originally posted by ltl/fb
Though, how min wage laws apply to farm workers is something I'm only pretty sure about and not something I'm entirely sure about, and I'd truly love it if someone who actually for-sure knows would bust out and say so.
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I don't know one way or the other. Either they're subsidized as compared to other businesses by being expressly exempt or they're subsidized by being implicitly exempt, because there's no enforcement of the rules. Take your pick, my point's the same either way: farmers have a source of labor at below-market rates. That's a subsidy, if not a directly fiscal one. Why should farms be exempt, but not auto cos., steel cos., coal cos., etc.? It causes a misallocation of resources towards farming, that does not increase (US) societal welfare). If the concern is national security (we need domestic supplies of grain), then give farmers a fixed amount of money each year (per acre) simply to produce.
