PRESTOPUNDIT -- "It's a team sport, baby!"

"Jobs Americans Won't Do" -- increasingly this would seem to include just about every job I've ever had, outside of academic and think tank jobs. Why? Because wages in almost every one of these jobs has been driven down by the surplus of non-native born workers lining up at the employment office. I'm speaking here of solid factory, agricultural, retail and service industry jobs. It's a simple fact that for decades non-American born workers have been driving down wages at these various businesses. I've seen it with my own eyes on "the American street" so to speak. Here is an example. It was years ago, but a packing house I once worked in had gone out and intentionally brought in foreign workers, because they would work at lower wages (they didn't work any harder than anyone else, and certainly there were more people applying for work every day than there were jobs in the plant).

(UPDATE: From Project USA -- "Here's the real problem: In the early 60s, meatpackers in Omaha, Nebraska were paid about $6.00/hr. That's about $34.00/hr in today's money. Our guess is that you could find Americans to work as meat-packers at $34.00/hr. Instead, those jobs today pay less than $10.00 and are done mostly by immigrant and illegal labor.")

All of these jobs I'm talking about were at one time jobs that Americans would do, because I've known so many of the Americans who did these jobs, and I've been one of them. But the pay has continued to decline, as the pool of non-native born labor has continued to overwhelm the employment office of these businesses.

"Jobs Americans Won't Do" now increasingly includes one of my current part-time jobs -- a position in commissioned sales at one of America's leading retailers. Not long ago this sort of job was a classic midddle income American job. Only recently has the job category been taken over (for the most part) by foreign workers. And why is that? Because foreign workers continue to drive wages down substantially in this category -- down several dollars an hour in just the short time I've been employed.

One of the sadder stories I've witnessed is the decline of the native-born construction trades worker in Southern California. As the owner of a new home I've seen and talked to the aging "last of the breed" construction tradesmen struggling to hold on despite declining paychecks in an industry now dominated by illegals. These jobs too, are becoming "Jobs Americans Won't Do". It's not because they can't do it, or aren't good at doing it. It's because they can't support their families the way their fathers could in these industries where wages are determined by the endless supply of foreign labor, usually in the country illegally.

UPDATE: Linda Chavez defends the new Bush program, in part on the grounds that there are "Jobs Americans Won't Do". I guess you know by now what I think of that claim.

ALSO don't miss NRO's Mark Krikorian on "Jobs Americans Won't Do". (Good title!)

UPDATE 2: Great quote -- "It is often said that immigrants take jobs Americans don't want. But that's only half a sentence. The complete statement is: Illegal immigrants take jobs Americans don't want at the wages that are being offered."

Posted by Greg Ransom | TrackBack