Originally Posted by Tesla
In my neck of the woods employers expectations have gone sky high -- and their wage rates have dropped 40 percent and more.

What was $21 is now $13.

In such an environment it's absurd to think that the trades are attractive.

Further, until unlimited immigration is halted, blue collar wages can't rise.

This was seen before in the 1880 to 1910 era: wages went nowhere. A fresh batch of immigrants always made the natives compete against their poverty.

That's how the union movement got started.

Comes WWI -- immigration is halted entirely. Overnight, labor is king, and wages start to simply take off. It was typical for a man to earn but one dollar for a days work in 1905. By 1915, Henry Ford was paying an incredible $5 per day. His move was the leading edge of ramping wages and living conditions for blue collar labor.

We effectively opened the door - wide open - with the 1964 immigration 'reforms.' It is notable that since the early 70's real wages for electricians -- to include the IBEW -- have slid backwards. No one in construction could avoid the impact of under the table workforce 'participation' in the trades.

If you're a general contractor -- you find yourself underbid to the point you fold shop.

BTW, the government never includes illegal immigrant unemployment in its statistics. Yet, obviously, they ARE unemployed -- with implications for the national economy.

When you add back all of the categories of laid off/ un-hired ( fresh out of school) / illegals/ too long unemployed -- you discover that our nation has it worse than the Great Depression. The huge difference being our national / state welfare system eliminates the need for soup kitchens.

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Any young man looking at these trends is trying to find a port in the economic storm. Construction is going to contract yet again as this Greatest Depression slumps again.

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Out my way there are NO ads for apprentices. The J-man glut is massive.


truer words have seldom been written Tesla

but i'll tell you what, the blues built this country

and the blues can rebuild it again ........just mho

~S~