American labor cannot survive on the $0.50 an hour that a Mexican worker can or the $0.25 an hour that a Chinese worker can. No way can the typical average American pay $4,000 property tax a year, 1/3 his income in income tax, high Social Security, taxes, Medicare taxes, gasoline taxes, high sales taxes and all the other many taxes and earn those kinds of wages. End all taxes and the American could work for far less also.
Another problem is the cost of housing, which is usually a family's biggest expense. Back in the early '80s, a young, newly-divorced friend of mine with a toddler was able to afford a nice apartment in a nice section of Paterson, NJ, on a minimum-wage salary. Can't do that now. Even ten years ago, rents were not unreasonable. Since the mid-nineties, though, the cost of rent and mortgage have skyrocketed.