Reply #13: This is now common [View All]

[Elwood P Dowd]

Here in the south, companies involved in roofing, construction, paving, and landscaping have reduced wages for unskilled workers. Younger males, the majority African-American, could make 6-8 bucks an hour back in the 90's. Now it's almost all immigrants making 5-6 bucks an hour - slightly more in the larger urban areas. When you factor in REAL INFLATION, that's about equal to 3-4 bucks an hour in the 90's. Also, local high school and college students were often employed in these jobs during the peak summer months. You don't see that anymore. What you do see is these contractors living in new 800K homes and driving around with a black "W" sticker on their expensive new SUV.