[Who dat?]

What would this mean? U.S. companies would offer pay at or near the minimum wage for jobs they had open in, say, construction.

I keep hearing that.

I’ve been involved in various aspects of construction for 35+ years. (Framing, roofing, plumbing, painting and electrical.) I haven’t seen anyone making minimum wage since the mid 1970’s – that’s when I apprenticed with an electrical contractor. Now you’ll make anywhere from $28 - $45 per hour, depending who you work for and what you’re doing.

Not a single $5.00/hr job I’m aware of. Helpers start out at $10.00. That’s for a live body with no experience whatsoever.

[FITZ]

Now you’ll make anywhere from $28 - $45 per hour, depending who you work for and what you’re doing.

Construction work in the SW wouldn't pay anything close to that --- but maybe in some parts of the country they pay that. No one pays an illiterate unskilled immigrant that kind of money and full health insurance benefits --- the whole reason they do is to pay dirt cheap and let the taxpayers subsidize them.

[Paul Ross]

Here in Minnesota, well over 70% of the roofing crews are Mexicans. They get about $5 per hour. And the general wisdom is that, while willing to work, the work they do is poor. Translation: A lot of low-bidding firms have put up a lot of leaky roofs.