They should be welcomed where they are needed but unfortunately where they are needed in middle America they are the most unwanted from a policy perspective because of politics and bigotry. The small town where my in laws live in Fayette county is the best example of this. My in laws complain all the time how hard it is to find trades to get work done on their house, and how restaurants in their town can’t stay open. However they can’t help themselves by complaining all the time how all those brown people from the border are coming over the border and how this country just won’t “look the same” if Biden continues to be the president etc etc. I’m like… have you not stepped back and looked at your sh$thole small town? Nothing stays open here because this town has nothing but old racist retirees who offer nothing to the local economy other than the 5 dollars they spend on dollar beers at the local veterans hall.
We have similar issues in MN. Mn has the lowest unemployment rate in the country yet we’re still seeing business close because of the inability to find labor. I know first hand I’ve had projects delayed and cost rise because they can’t find enough construction workers. This is particularly bad for drywallers and in 2018 a contractor specifically blamed Trump’s rhetoric and policies for that.
Not everyone who takes that risk should be welcomed. The standards should be higher. That is good way to ensure a terrorist attack.
Not only in defiance of the federal government and U.S. Constitution, but of the United States Supreme Court. All to place inhumane razor wire to placate the maga base...
That's always felt like an under-mentioned aspect of illegal immigration: it subsidizes cheap consumer culture. We all want restaurants, hotels, construction, our groceries, etc. to be cheaper. But, part of our easy access to these things is the massive pool of illegal labor keeping costs down. A true effort to cut down on illegal employment would mean that Americans decide we're ok with paying more for things. I don't know if we are.
Again Minnesota has the lowest unemployment rate in the country. Further just increasing wages leads to increased prices of projects which means developers might chose to not undertake projects. That has other negative effects. As is we now deal with delays and or rushed timelines as contractors try to fit available labor into tight timelines.
It’s interesting because that same poster was critical of inflation and is essentially advocating for inflation. Low prices especially in construction has many other benefits for the economy. For those who complain about how high housing prices are and how little housing stock is available one of the best ways to address that is to greatly increase the labor pool for construction.
Just to add while I’m not In construction I’m dealing with the labor shortages. We’ve raised our rates and are willing to pay more but we still have trouble hiring people to do stuff like drafting.
Too simplistic. Increasing wages may not be feasible for businesses, especially small ones operating on tight profit margins. Sure, you can try to increase prices (and/or reduce costs elsewhere) for services or products, but that risks reducing customer demand or customers simply finding other alternatives. Unless it's literally someone's livelihood (such as healthcare), there is a ceiling that you can't cross over for your services or products to be attractive. Cross that, and your services/products likely cease to exist. There is not a direct and immediate correlation between wages and labor supply. Other factors, such as location, working conditions, job security, knowledge, and skill, can all be significant factors. You may be able to raise wages to, let's say, $50k per year to pick crops, and that still won't attract enough workers due to the harsh working conditions. You may raise wages to $10M and still can't find a qualified person for a specialized job.
