Mexico’s Population Leveling Out
For years, farmers throughout the United States especially in the rich land of California, have had abundant, cheap labor for picking high value crops such as grapes, peppers, apples and such. Most of this cheap unauthorized labor is from our border country Mexico. Recently these statistics have taken a turn for the worse. There is a drastic shortage of workers for farm labor. The shortage is driven by a struggling U.S. economy, more jobs in Mexico and bigger hurdles to illegal border crossings. The shortage and competition for workers means labor expenses have climbed, harvests are getting delayed, leaving waste from the decaying fruits and vegetables unable to be picked. This causes income for the farmers to suffer and in the long run consumer prices to increase. The trend appears to be long lasting, ultimately affecting our economy and environment.
One of the main reasons this problem has come about is due to the sharp decrease of Mexico’s fertility rate. This further decreased the number of young men crossing into the United States to work in the fields. Mexican men are known to leave their wives and children behind to cross the border in hopes of a better future. It’s a part of life that they have become used to and although it sounds cold, it has existed for a very long time. The Mexican economy is doing better now than it has in the past. Mexico has a free market economy in the trillion dollar class. It has a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, dominated by the private sector increasingly. With less population becoming apparent, more young men can make it possible to work at home with smaller families to provide for.
Upon all the research that I have done, I was surprised to discover that the main culprit for Mexico’s fertility rate dropping did not have anything to do with outside influences. Meaning chemicals or consumption of preservatives and such. For years, Mexico has had (and still does) a reputation for large families with many children. The fertility rate has plummeted drastically in the past few decades, now almost to the same level as the United States. Better education and improved job opportunities for women means that the expense to stay home with children is no longer appealing. The government has improved availability of birth control and liberalization of abortion rules in some countries makes the outcome easier to avoid. Another influence is the American culture, with massive number of people going back and for the into the United States and NAFTA (mass media) many Mexicans are now following by example and discovering that life is easier and more productive with smaller families. As labor markets in Mexico tighten, and wage rates rise, few Mexican youngsters will be interested in crossing the border to the U.S.
This means that the main problem of illegal immigration into the United States from Mexico is really just temporary. Labor shortages already show the truth about what is going on in Mexico and how the country is slowly rising above poverty level and more of the people are resisting leaving their home land. The amount of energy the U.S. is placing on border control is similar to building a dam with no water behind it. A better solution at this point for our farmers would be more jobs for Americans with better pay and benefits. Money well saved thus becoming money well spent.
