"It is to elect better politicians..."
Electing "better politicians" simply ensures that the insanity continues, only in more underhanded and media-savvy ways. Better politicians find better and more invisible ways to game to the system.
The "solution" (Wombat101 reserves all rights to this solution, btw) is really very simple;
The problem is NOT that Mexicans and such cross the border to take "jobs Americans won't do", but rather "take jobs Americans won't do without a 401(k) and a dental plan". If someone offered me $20 an hour to mow lawns, I might very well do it in my spare time. If someone offered me $20 an hour to mow lawns with a matching employer donation to a retirement plan, and the possibility of buying an employer-sponsored health insurance plan,I might make a career out of it.
However, the labor market being what it is, this will not happen. The premium jobs nowadays require a great level of technical skill. Manual labor has lost it's lustre; even many construction jobs require a level of technical skill and specialty.
So, what are we to do? Here's my novel idea:
Why don't we make it more diffiuclt for people to obtain government-sponsored college loans, forcing those who would have simply taken these low-interest loans to loaf around for five years while merely attracting the patina of knowledge, and forcing them instead to WORK THEIR WAY THROUGH COLLEGE? This was once a commonplace activity. Instead, the Department of Education and many state-level industries make it comparitively easy to obtain education loans, many of which go unpaid even AFTER the recipient finds work.
Imagine: millions of American college-graduates possessing not only a degree, but a work history even before they seek that first interview! Imagine: a re-introduction of the work ethic into American society! Imagine: people actually VALUING their education because they broke their backs for it! Imagine: the crippling costs of a college education offset by young Americans making their OWN investment in their OWN futures! Imagine: fewer tax dollars going out to majors in "soft" sciences (like "Gender Studies" and "World Peace") and "vanity" degrees through the Department of Education! Why, if you were willing to WORK for your degree, you'd want a degree that would actually GET you work later on!
How many American youths, some sub-sets notoriously unemployed (often unemployable) and under-educated, would jump at the chance to spend the fall picking produce, if the money they earned could be applied to obtaining a college-level degree or to defray the cost of a technical school tuition?
Perhaps if Americans were called upon to sacrifice (like they used to), they might take up the challenge. However, sacrifice is a word that has fallen out of favor. If we can create a "Peace Corps", we can easily do this.