do illegal aliens CAUSE low wages?

Question

they say they do the low wage jobs, but doesn't that lower the wages on all jobs, until eventually we're in the same poverty mexico is?

Answer 1

Yes, they lower wages. In 1980 the average meat packer made $19 an hour, now they make $9 an hour( Department of Labor Statistics). I know lots of Americans with college degrees that don't make $19 an hour an would be happy to work for that much. Instead, they lower the wages so low that no one who isn't living with 7 other working adults can't feed their families, and then politicians have the audacity to say Americans won't do these jobs.

Answer 2

Yes, I believe they do.
I think it is because their economics are not the same. Many live like dogs and send a lot of money back to Mexico. Most of today's illegals have the plan to live out their retirement back home in Mexico; today's illegals NOT tomorrow's. Tthat is how they can under cut the market. Look at what is happening to, and has happen to living wage jobs; butchers, bricklayers, truck drivers, builders, store sale and autoworker. Twenty, thirty years ago all these jobs paid a living wage and had benefits. When I work today I work for not only for today but my retirement years too. I am not against immigrants, but I am against all those thinking they can invest a few years living like a dog on the plan that they can live like a king in the end. In the long run they will find out the plan didn't work. All they did is turn a living wage job into a crap job.

Answer 3

Most don't pick cotton. They are in the construction business for $12 an hour and are complaining.

The illegals aliens cost wage earners $200 Billion dollars a year.

Not to mention federal, state, county, and city of billions, I added it up once.

Deport - 500 Billion Dollars
Keep them here - 500 Trillion Dollars
Freedom - priceless

anyone wants sources, i have them - but you asked there's way too many, you've been warned!

OK, after reading others, I have to explain this -
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN ILLEGAL PICKING ANYTHING FOR $1 AN HOUR OR ANY AMERICANS HIDING ILLEGALS IN THEIR HOMES TO WORK FOR THEM FOR $40 BUCKS A WEEK.

Not only are they organized, they are a force to be reckoned with as they are UNIONIZED. The UFW is so proud of the increase in pay and benefits, legal requirements of free health care and such, they are currently passing around a petition to have their founder, Cesar Chavez, declared a national holiday.

Then way you say the fuss? Because this system allows employers to control the workforce - and the rest of their lives. For less benefits and a little better money, any American that wanted to feed his family would do it.

THERE IS NO JOB AN AMERICAN WON'T DO.

OMG, another myth: illegals, or anyone else, never ever gets Social Security benefits for any reason if they do not contribute to it. They do, however, receive SSI payments as these are designed to aid people for certain reasons I forget. That benefit does not require paying into, but is funded by taxpayers as well.

Chicanti: Always around? I've read where Wendy's won't hire people that don't speak Spanish! What a rip!

Answer 4

Of course they lower our wages. This is bad for employment but has only been good for businesses. Exploiting cheap manual labor is what is making the rich even richer, but is causing more poverty among Americans. The disparity in wealth is now becoming more evident and soon we will have the same problems Mexico has, the filthy rich 5% of the population and the rest 95% living on a day to day basis. What is so sad is that we are letting this happen, we are letting rich politicians dictate our economy for their own gain, this must stop right away before its too late.

Answer 5

Nope, they actually keep raising the minimum wage in Washington State because people can't survive on it. But then the price of everything goes up because labor costs more. They also get free Social Security benefits that they have never paid into and you will probably never see after the thousands of dollars you put into it. Yes, it is destroying our economy in the USA. They say that the illegal aliens are taking the jobs we don't want. But actually they are taking the jobs that kids used to do. But now it is illegal for our kids to work in the fields, orchards etc. I did it when I was a kid and paid for all my school cloths and supplies.

Answer 6

yar is right.

Now even more are cutting wages again. They are new and working for less and cutting the others who did it before them -now we have more poorer. It is a circle. And Business need too be held accountable for their share in this madness.

And many not few (surveys show) do not work min or lower than min wages. Papers are full of stories. But as long as its an Employers market (too many people and not enough jobs) than the wage stays small.

Answer 7

Yeah. It is the employer going for as cheap a wage as they can get, but even legalized immigrants won't do the job for as little as someone who is illegally here. The guest worker is meant to keep a constant stream of low pay workers beholden to the employers in place. However, since they are all being given a path to citizenship under the Senate bill, they are not temporary as they are being billed, and would have the opportunity to bring in family to use further services, etc. The essentially unlimited legal immigration of poor immigrants we would subsidize is possibly my biggest problem with the Senate Bill (and I have a LOT of problems with the Senate Bill.)

However, there are apparently other ways guest worker programs can be abused, too.

"Bank of America, for example, is currently using a temporary-worker program to move about 100 technical-support jobs from the San Francisco Bay area to India.

American workers are training the Indian workers brought in under temporary work visas in the company's San Francisco area offices. After the Indian workers are sufficiently trained, they will return home to take up their new tasks and the Americans' jobs will be phased out, Bank of America said."
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/nation/story/692EB8CC6D9C30CD862571920026F033?OpenDocument

Answer 8

Illegal aliens are willing to be paid low wages because they are staying and working in this country illegally. They can not ask for minimum wage payment and because of this, they get paid under the table. Indirectly, this has caused unwillingness on the part of employers to pay higher salary to their legal workers.

Answer 9

Yes, it increases the labor supply which means supply is more than demand, thus lower wages. Those who lose the jobs will look in other fields increasing labor supply in other fields as well. Thus the illegals depress wages for all.

Answer 10

You do bring up a good point although I must point out illegals are just a drop in the bucket. With the so called global economy many high paying white collar jobs are dissappearing or being downgraded in pay and benefits because we can't "compete" if we are paid too much. Yes I agree with your question but I also think it sucks that we supposively have to lower our standards to compete in the so called global economy. I say screw the global economy !

Answer 11

No. Greedy companies that don't like to pay even minimum wage cause wages to go down.
A business is there to make a profi and one of those ways is to keep overhead as low as possible, ie: wages to people under the table that way they don't have to pay certain taxes, health benefits, a company to cut the proper check, etc.