Collapse in US lending standards has "central banks are scared out of their minds"

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I used to live in Los Angeles and I had no problems getting my manual labour job.

[Heracles 417]

One of my first jobs after getting my EAD was working as a day-labourer for a construction / land surveying company. And that was in 2005.

On one hand we have blamed, in other posts, a range of historical reasons for the high rate of poverty amongst black Americans. On the other the same people who are pro-amnesty or poor illegal immigrants don't seem to realize that over 8,700,0000 black Americans are living in poverty. That is while there are 12,000,000 illegal immigrants living here.

Don't you think if they where forced to leave, by cutting of the supply (aka sealing the border) and the demand (aka taking away their jobs and freedom to move around) this would free up positions for the millions of black Americans living in poverty??

I used to live in Los Angeles and I had no problems getting my manual labour job.

I think the growing number of ghettos says otherwise in America... They sure as hell aren't benefiting from illegal immigrants cheap labor.

Edited August 21, 2007 by Boo-Yah!

[Ban Hammer 14,571]

I think the growing number of ghettos says otherwise in America... They sure as hell aren't benefiting from illegal immigrants cheap labor.

that's been my contention all along

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I'd say it depends a lot on where you live. Densely populated cities like Newark typically suffer from chronic underemployment. In that respect does New Jersey have as big of a problem with illegal labour as California? I'm not so sure...

Moreover, I'd say if you're looking for a cause - the collapse of the US manufacturing base is IMO a bigger problem than illegal labour stealing all the low-wage, "unskilled" jobs. Large employers shutting up shop can create massive employment almost overnight - look at the US car manufacturers.. Its no coincidence that some of these former industrial cities are amongst the poorest.

[Heracles 417]

I'd say it depends a lot on where you live. Densely populated cities like Newark typically suffer from chronic underemployment. In that respect does New Jersey have as big of a problem with illegal labour as California? I'm not so sure...

Moreover, I'd say if you're looking for a cause - the collapse of the US manufacturing base is IMO a bigger problem than illegal labour stealing all the low-wage, "unskilled" jobs. Large employers shutting up shop can create massive employment almost overnight - look at the US car manufacturers.. Its no coincidence that some of these former industrial cities are amongst the poorest.

New Jersey is new Jersey though. Manufacturing died there many years ago. The problem still remains that there are few jobs from them to take up elsewhere as the illegal immigrants snap them up first. By elsewhere I mean elsewhere in the country. Illegal immigrants are most definitely given priority over Americans. That is where I have a problem..

We can get some of these people out of the ghettos by providing various financial incentives.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I'd say it depends a lot on where you live. Densely populated cities like Newark typically suffer from chronic underemployment. In that respect does New Jersey have as big of a problem with illegal labour as California? I'm not so sure...

Moreover, I'd say if you're looking for a cause - the collapse of the US manufacturing base is IMO a bigger problem than illegal labour stealing all the low-wage, "unskilled" jobs. Large employers shutting up shop can create massive employment almost overnight - look at the US car manufacturers.. Its no coincidence that some of these former industrial cities are amongst the poorest.

New Jersey is new Jersey though. Manufacturing died there many years ago. The problem still remains that there are few jobs from them to take up elsewhere as the illegal immigrants snap them up first. By elsewhere I mean elsewhere in the country. Illegal immigrants are most definitely given priority over Americans. That is where I have a problem..

We can get some of these people out of the ghettos by providing various financial incentives.

What financial incentives would enable an unskilled person without a degree to move to a different state - give that A person's circumstances tend to dictate their opportunities...?

BTW - where do your illegal immigrant friends fit into this assessment?

[Caladan 19]

Try doing that now... Not an option anymore with illegal immigrants..

I'm 28. My friends were working construction jobs and painting jobs in 2001. It is an option. Not everything can be blamed on illegals.

Where did you live? What is the rate of illegal immigrants in your area? Between 2001 to 2007 there has been a huge influx of illegal immigrants.

This was all over the country, mostly the midwest (Indiana, Ohio) and southwest (Arizona). My sister's friends (southwestern Pa.) worked construction last summer. It's just not unheard of for a college kid to work during the summer. You won't make enough to put yourself through college, but you'll be able to cover books and living expenses if you work hard. (And no, you wouldn't be making $30,000 in three months were it not for those illegals, either.)

C. works a skilled labor job right now in Texas/Oklahoma/Arkansas. His employer hires a lot of Hispanics, and he suspects some are probably illegal (everyone has what appears to be valid paperwork. But here's the thing. C. runs the rig. Anyone who is promoted has to be here legally. It's one thing to hire a helper who doesn't need his own blasting license in order to drill, because he can piggyback on the driller's license, but to be in charge, you need the license, which means you need to be here legally. To move beyond that, you need to be a permanent resident or a citizen to get the explosive permits. And to be promoted at all, you need a command of English. And that's true even though the firm that is subcontracting C.'s immediate employer is Hispanic-owned.

So it's a little more complicated than 'not an option.' In my experience, it seems to lower the starting wage or the short-term hires but the upper echelons are relatively untouched. C. makes more than he did in Canada. His assistant makes $16/hour, and with guaranteed 12-hour days, that's pretty good pay for rural Texas. Would they be paying more if the workers weren't Hispanic? Maybe, but it's certainly not obvious.

[Heracles 417]

The economy has stagnated in comparison to the rest of the world. The only thing still keeping it afloat is companies who are operating abroad.

Do you have any specific examples and numbers to substantiate this claim?

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN2136912320070821

Tue Aug 21, 2007 6:32PM EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A deepening U.S. housing slump has caused an alarming surge in job losses at U.S. financial services companies, and the end is nowhere in sight, consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said on Tuesday.

The industry has announced 87,962 job cuts so far this year, 75 percent more than the 50,327 recorded for all of 2006, Challenger said. Nearly one-fourth of this year's cuts have been announced in August alone.

Edited August 21, 2007 by Boo-Yah!

[Heracles 417]

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has warned that the crisis in the US sub-prime lending market could cost up to $100bn.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6906914.stm

One guess what this means in terms of job losses...

Edited August 21, 2007 by Boo-Yah!

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I'm not sure what this proves exactly - unemployment in the US is currently lower than almost every other major economy in the developed world except Japan, and significantly lower than most countries in Western Europe (and on par with your beloved Australia). check the back page of the Economist if you don't believe me.

[Heracles 417]

I'm not sure what this proves exactly - unemployment in the US is currently lower than almost every other major economy in the developed world except Japan, and significantly lower than most countries in Western Europe (and on par with your beloved Australia). check the back page of the Economist if you don't believe me.

Usually the effects of such incidents are only felt down the road. Wait and see where CA is in a few years. The state which will probably be hit the hardest from defaults and their overpriced property..

PS The US unemployment rate does not mean much considering over 15% of Americans are living in poverty..

Edited August 21, 2007 by Boo-Yah!

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I wouldn't be too confident that the global credit crisis is only going to effect the US. The australian stock market has just seen its biggest decline in a decade.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

PS The US unemployment rate does not mean much considering over 15% of Americans are living in poverty.

Very similar to the percentage of Australians doing the same, apparently:

http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/pdf/ir/nationalwage0104.pdf

Working Australians in poverty

233. It has been estimated that in 2000, 13 per cent of all Australians lived in

poverty. Of those living in poverty, 15 per cent lived in families whose

main income source was wages and salaries13. According to the Smith

Family, in Australia today ‘having a job no longer guarantees that you or

your family will not be in poverty’14.

[Heracles 417]

PS The US unemployment rate does not mean much considering over 15% of Americans are living in poverty.

Very similar to the percentage of Australians doing the same, apparently:

http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/pdf/ir/nationalwage0104.pdf

Funny how Australians have the lowest unemployment rate in comparison to any English speaking nation. Lol Their poverty must be the reason so many from the UK are moving and traveling there hey

Lets not even start to compare it aesthetically. Especially when compared to la.. Or in terms of living standards. The poms cannot apply quick enough for Aussie Visa's. The irony of that hey..

Edited August 22, 2007 by Boo-Yah!

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Funny how Australians have the lowest unemployment rate in comparison to any English speaking nation. Lol Their poverty must be the reason so many from the UK are moving and traveling there hey

Lets not even start to compare it aesthetically. Or in terms of living standards. The poms cannot apply quick enough for Aussie Visa's.. The irony of that hey..

The difference between the US and Australia in July 07 is 0.3% (4.6% vs 4.3%)

I know your homesick, but try not to get so carried away. We've already covered the Australian brain drain.