The funny thing is that if they used the 100k/year for labor, they would be able to pay out $87,600 after 12.4% employer tax, this equates to ~$42.11/hr. I absolutely promise workers will line up for that wage.

Course that still doesn't provide healthcare. That being said, the farmer is pocketing more money by paying the employee so little than what the employee actually makes, and this money is not at all earned by the farmer, but a handout from taxpayers. The employer gets to profit from the fruits of their labor on top of making more money simply by paying them the legal minimum they can pay with the program.

I've been running my own garden for three years now on a community plot. I don't ask anyone to work for me, and I don't pay anyone. I pick what I want and everyone else does the same. Sometimes they help, sometimes they don't. It doesn't change anything for me.

I can't fix your busted local economy for you. I do know that paying $30/hr will get a lot of people out doing something they don't necessarily like, even if they have to drive for it. Even in a place with ridiculous cost of living like California.

I knew guys who left their house at 1 in the morning to be 120 miles away for the start of work at 4. I asked one of them why they did it. They said "Where we live, you either go out and get a real job, or you work in the fields". It's not even about the money. It's mostly about the benefits. How many farmers offer medical, paid holiday, or sick pay?

These guys worked 10s and 12s every day. They work hard, and they want that work to mean more for them than someone else's profit. That's ALL you are offering.