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Well, I will tell you I don't believe the Center for Immigration Studies and the ilk. I do believe the census, I believe what MANY of sociologists and economists have stated.
The vast majority of part time and hourly workers are NOT illegal. In fast food, the majority are teens.
I am a part time janitor (thank you economy). They hired me since I wanted the work. I asked my friends, and conducted an informal poll. Most said they would never be a janitor. So what is occurring is also self selection. You don't see many American youth in these lower service sector jobs (ie, janitor).
Construction is not a job, it's an industry. With that said, construction...Living in literally what was the fastest growing region of the US... I can tell you that most were not illegal immigrants building those houses. It takes A LOT of skill to build a house. Lawsuits occur when faulty building happens.
There's no denying that illegal immigrants are indeed taking jobs that the average US American doesn't want. However that problem won't be solved by a fence. The problem is right here. Why are so many unskilled people unwilling to take the lousy low paying jobs? Well, it's because welfare is a much better deal. If we eliminate the market for the illegals, they'll go away. It's not a fault that they want a better life, in fact it's admirable that they will go to such lengths to better themselves, but it's sad that even our own poor don't know how good they've got it compared to literally most of the rest of the world.
Our welfare system is set up in a manner that actually discourages people from seeking work. When the system rewards low or no performance, it really doesn't inspire anyone to do better. That's the problem.
We end up with a whole slew of people on welfare which is a huge burden on taxpayers and at the same time encourages illegal immigration and the subsequent burden of medical care and many other various expenses for those immigrants. We have plenty of jobs to go around for Americans but our sense of entitlement makes those jobs "beneath" us. You can't really blame the hordes on welfare either because they've been snared in the welfare trap and settled into the lifestyle from which there's little oppotunity to escape.
If we're going to solve the illegal immigration problem we're going to have to start weaning people off welfare and nudging them into the jobs currently being filled by illegals. We can't just continually cut them off as soon as they find a job because a minimum wage job simply isn't enough. Raising the minimum wage won't help either because it increases labor costs along with prices and makes illegals, or worse, offshore labor that much more attractive.
C’mon, they are ALL industries. Let’s not reduce this to the ridiculous. The bottom line is all of these jobs were being performed by U.S. citizens prior to the greed infestation permeating this country. College and high school students, as well as elderly once dominated fast food. Now, even summer jobs have become virtually extinct for this demographic due primarily to cheap illegal labor. Yes, youth still dominate this industry, but they are illegal aliens, not citizens.
You stated construction in terms of singularity. Also, a recent study showed that increasing the min. wage benefits middle class teens more than illegal immigrants. Why? Since they are the majority of fast food workers in the nation. Sorry, but citizen youth dominate part time work. It's simple math. Food Service is one of the nation's largest sectors. Thus, with the population of illegal immigrants it would mean that EVERY illegal adult works in food service to even be a simple majority. We know this to not be the case.
Many citizens supported their families by working construction. And yes, they “were” skilled laborers. Now, we have shoddy work being performed by unskilled illegals, and legitimate contractors are unable to compete against unscrupulous employers of illegals.
Again, being around the industry my entire life (4 neighbors are contractors). Not the majority or norm. The only effect that illegal immigrants have on the economy is on the lowest economic stratum. Even that has benefits since in many communities collected sales taxes have risen.
I don’t need to rely on reports from the government or any special interest group. I see it everyday, and I personally know construction contractors that have gone out of business because they choose to operate legally. I can tell you, the majority of workers on construction sites are NOT legal workers, and our government could give a damn. If the government doesn’t care that unlicensed illegals are working as mechanics for our commercial airlines, do you actually believe they care if they build your house?
I rely on what I have learned, on hard figures and facts. With only 12 million illegal immigrants it is impossible that the majority of the 7.7 million construction jobs are illegal. This means that every adult illegal immigrant is in construction. We know this to not be true.
I don’t think anyone EVER aspired to become a janitor. However, when one lacks an education, one must accept whatever work is available. Sadly, the uneducated U.S. citizen has been replaced by foreigners willing to work for ‘slave’ wages, and willing to live 15-20 per 1-bedroom apartment.
I never stated "aspired". The exact question was "In my position (college educated, working towards a masters, having a full time job...yet poor) would you take this job as a janitor?" The vast majority of people said no. And if you think about it, employers don't like risk. If Americans were willing to be a janitor for $9 an hr...then the employer would hire them. Low risk. However, they aren't.
The fact that you believe there are 12 million illegals in this country speaks volumes. They (our government) claimed there were 12 million at least 10 years ago. I guess no illegals have entered our country in the past 10 years.
You are entitled to your opinion, but the fact is illegal aliens are not simply picking fruit and veggies, and they are not only cleaning toilets. They have reduced many previously middle class jobs/wages to a level only third-world peasants would embrace.
The fact that you believe there are 12 million illegals in this country speaks volumes. They (our government) claimed there were 12 million at least 10 years ago. I guess no illegals have entered our country in the past 10 years.
You are entitled to your opinion, but the fact is illegal aliens are not simply picking fruit and veggies, and they are not only cleaning toilets. They have reduced many previously middle class jobs/wages to a level only third-world peasants would embrace.
Give it up. You're going to lose this one...I guarantee it.
The fact that you believe there are 12 million illegals in this country speaks volumes. They (our government) claimed there were 12 million at least 10 years ago. I guess no illegals have entered our country in the past 10 years.
You are entitled to your opinion, but the fact is illegal aliens are not simply picking fruit and veggies, and they are not only cleaning toilets. They have reduced many previously middle class jobs/wages to a level only third-world peasants would embrace.
The biggest factors that "reduces many middle class jobs" are automation is outsourcing. The blue collar collapse...not illegal immigration.
The fact that you believe there are 12 million illegals in this country speaks volumes. They (our government) claimed there were 12 million at least 10 years ago. I guess no illegals have entered our country in the past 10 years.
You are entitled to your opinion, but the fact is illegal aliens are not simply picking fruit and veggies, and they are not only cleaning toilets. They have reduced many previously middle class jobs/wages to a level only third-world peasants would embrace.
Even the biggest anti-immigrant group(CIS) out there believes there are 12 million illegal immigrants in the country.
Quote:
The report was released at a press conference Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. It found that the illegal immigration population declined 11 percent from August 2007 through May 2008, from 12.5 million to 11.2 million. If the pace of the decline were to continue, the report said, the total illegal population would be reduced by one-half over the next five years.
Did it occur to you that anyone directly competing with illegals for work might not be able to afford luxuries like computers and Internet connections?
Back in 1932, telephone polls indicated that FDR would lose by a landslide but what the pollsters failed to consider was that only the very wealthy even had phones in 1932. Back then, the wealthy were few and far between.
Even if every registered user on C-D responded to your poll, it would leave you with less than .00000001% (+/- a zero or two) of the US adult population respnding. So, unless your poll got more than about roughly a quarter million total participants, it wouldn't be enough to even get a vague picture of just the C-D users.
Did it occur to you that anyone directly competing with illegals for work might not be able to afford luxuries like computers and Internet connections?
Back in 1932, telephone polls indicated that FDR would lose by a landslide but what the pollsters failed to consider was that only the very wealthy even had phones in 1932. Back then, the wealthy were few and far between.
Even if every registered user on C-D responded to your poll, it would leave you with less than .00000001% (+/- a zero or two) of the US adult population respnding. So, unless your poll got more than about roughly a quarter million total participants, it wouldn't be enough to even get a vague picture of just the C-D users.
My poll was meant for those who regularly post in the immigration forum.
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