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In reply to the discussion: Obama finalizing plans to have your tech job replaced by foreigners [View all]TexasMommaWithAHat
(3,212 posts)I have a husband in STEM who is affected by these visas, and my working class family (uncles, cousins) has been destroyed by cheap immigrant labor - roofers, masonry, carpentry, you name it. People around here don't seem to understand that Americans actually lived off of those paychecks, and they didn't have to live 10 people to a two-room apartment to do it. Sure, they didn't make much money, but it was a living back then. My brothers did roofing work for a neighbor to put themselves through college (first generation college graduates.) My dad did masonry and painting as a "side" job.
With the oilfield downturn in the eighties, I had family that moved across the country and started their own landscaping business. They did well enough to support their kids, too. It was hard work, but they did it. Now, they can't find work doing that, either.
It's funny how everyone around here supports driving down the wages of the working class, but scream about STEM workers.