Profit Over People (Part 2): Nebraska Transformation through Migration and Meatpacking

Nebraska’s economy thrives on its agricultural sector, a powerhouse pumping out billions through meatpacking and farming. Iowa Beef Packers, later absorbed by Tyson Foods in 2001, built this success on workers earning far less than the union wages of decades past—$15 an hour instead of $30. Governors across the years, from Norbert Tiemann in 1969 to Pete Ricketts until 2023, rarely stepped in to curb this flow, letting companies hire freely. Financial heavyweights like Vanguard and BlackRock, holding significant stakes in Tyson, cashed in on this labor model, while Warren Buffett’s conglomerate profited indirectly through investments tied to banking and food processing, such as his $27.1 billion stake in Bank of America. This approach wasn’t unique to Nebraska—states nationwide chose business growth over tight controls, prioritizing profit over restriction.

The state’s dependence on this workforce, including 33,750 undocumented Hispanics as of 2025, keeps the economic cycle spinning. Leaders valued the tax dollars—hundreds of millions annually—and affordable beef over fair wages or cultural preservation. Even recent efforts, like Governor Jim Pillen’s executive order in 2025 targeting 10,000 to 15,000 illegal workers, seem half-hearted, dwarfed by the state’s reliance on these laborers to fill 50,000 vacant jobs. Nebraska’s leadership has consistently placed economic benefits ahead of its original residents, a choice that echoes across the country where similar industries lean on low-cost labor to stay competitive.

This profit-driven stance has entrenched Hispanics in Nebraska’s fabric, ensuring wealth flows while sidelining earlier populations. Governors offered no meaningful barriers, and even tough talk from figures like Ricketts in 2018 about federal failures didn’t translate into action. The state’s agricultural output, a $26 billion engine, depends on this labor pool, legal and not, to keep costs down and production high. Nationwide, this pattern repeats—leaders chase short-term gains, leaving long-term stability in the dust, a decision that has locked in demographic changes and economic realities that no late effort can fully unwind.

Read the full article at the Nebraska Journal Herald

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