I worked my way through college by waitressing in a number of places. Dishwasher/busboys were low-man on the totem pole. They were either low-skilled legal American teens-young men who usually had a bad work ethic and only lasted a month or two, or they were Mexicans, probably illegal, who worked hard and were as reliable as sunrise. To the American, the minimum wage was a joke. To the Mexican, it was prosperity in the cardboard village he came from, and he sent most of it back there.
Guess which type I liked working with best? Guess which one my employers liked best? Guess which ones the customers liked best in terms of faster, better service?
It is great you were able to work your way through college and achieve a better station in life. I am sure some of those dishwasher/busboys who were the low man on the totem pole in the restaurant were able to improve their lot in life also.
My view is that in a free market economy, no job should be arbitrarily compensated based on a position on the totem pole but rather valued based on supply and demand.
Example: If there are many dishes that need to be washed and no one to wash them, the wage is increased to the point where someone will take the job. On the other hand, if there is a surplus of dishwashers and the employer is willing to deal with the turnover then the wage will remain low.
When government, through action or inaction, causes an artificial surplus of workers in any area, the free market is distorted.
While the surplus of workers was confined to the unskilled sector it was easy to cover with government benefit programs. As the flood of immigrants move into the semi-skilled and skilled sectors, the distortion will be more evident and much harder to deal with. The high tech field has already been adversely impacted by the H1B Visa program. Indeed, wages have been flat and in some cases falling for several years.
This is the problem Governor Walker is referencing when he advocates considering the impact immigration, both legal and illegal, has on American workers. He has a valid point and I hope that our country can get a handle on this problem before it gets completely out of hand.