BUT.. this summer I was down in Eastham, Ma which is a huge vacation spot on Cape Cod. I was talking with the owner of a family run restaurant which has been there for years. She was lamenting the fact that she couldn't get workers this year due to the gov't dragging their feet on the H2B visa workers - those are mostly seasonal foreign workers. I thought that maybe it was because there weren't enough high school kids or teenagers in the area that needed jobs as dishwashers or waiters or cleaners. Eastham is a fairly seasonal town. She told me that she has recruited at the local high school, population 1500, and that high school kids do not want to work in 'menial' jobs. She says when she does get them, she has to constantly monitor them as there are too many slackers - she said she prefers the foreign workers because they work hard and are dependable.
I thought of my own daughter and son's friends.. and I have to say, a lot of their parents don't make them work so they can 'enjoy' their teenaged years. The kids have everything including cars, ipods, computers, paid for college education, etc.
I just saw over 100 long term excellent employees replaced by HIB workers because the H1B workers (not nearly as good as the replaced workers) are so much cheaper and do not require insurance.
***And so the H1B visa abuse continues. For the AFIRE ping list.