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Back in 1992 I was in the chemical industry in Texas, and I had to go to regular OSHA and HAZWOP classes. Back then, the guy who was our teacher told us that soon there would be little or no building of refineries in the US, because of the costs here and because of the environmental laws. He said they would start building them in places like Mexico and China. I didn't believe it; it just seemed like such a radical idea at the time. But he turned out to be right about that.

My friend who is still in Houston said there are so many people losing jobs, and there are lots of foreclosures on houses. And oddly, the hair industry (beauticians and barbers) also is now almost exclusively made up foriegners, especially Asians. A person can't make a living at that anymore either unless they want to rent an apartment with 10 other people. I've even driven by shops that advertise haircuts for $2.99. A person just can't live on that. Also, lots of people in the chemical and oil industries have been laid off, and research has been cut. And of course there are all those manufacturing jobs that have moved overseas leaving a bunch of unemployed Americans.

I guess I'm just an America Firster as this is my country and it's sad to see it deteriorate so.

The nature of the job market is dynamic. That is a good thing, not a bad thing. Refineries are a nasty business. It is good to get rid of them. There are such a thing as high skilled barbers etc by the way. Mine charges 20 bucks, and she is worth it. Plus we talk politics. She is a hopeless right winger, but fun. In any event, the macro statistics of unemployement, per capita income, median income, etc in the US simply don't support your case on a macro level. Indeed, they refute it, totally. Production is simply hugely more efficient than it was, and I have seen it with my own eyes in my lifetime. Just think of those scanners at supermarkets. Not only is the checkout quicker and more accurate, but inventory control is expotentially more efficient and less wasteful. And so it goes.

I guess I'm just an America Firster as this is my country and it's sad to see it deteriorate so.

So am I DB. Despite the rhetoric, the fact remains that half of all American workers now pay into the lowest tax bracket. That stat doesn't lie. It means people are trying to survive with minimum wage jobs, no benies. It means they have no disposable income to regenerate the economy. It means that the idiots are killing off their market faster than they're developing new ones. And that means there will be a severe worldwide collapse ahead.

A person just can't live on that.

Are you saying foreigners aren't people? Could it possibly be that "foreigner" does the job better and more efficiently? I wish I could get a $2.99 haricut then go spend the other $10 I usually get charged by the barber on something else. The $10 doesn't just go away!

..... this is my country and it's sad to see it deteriorate so.

What? Our per capita real income is near an all time high and we have lifestyles that are the envy of the entire world. Anyone who wants a job can find a job (please don't tell me they can't). And things are deteriorating?