Free Republic

Men have been disappearing from the workforce for decades. But a closer look at the data reveals that lower-income men account for much of the change -- and that reflects a big problem with the economy. Only 69% of these men, ages 25 to 54, are employed, according to new research from the Brookings Institution. That figure was 80% in 1980. Among middle class and upper-income men, 92% are working, down only slightly from 94% in 1980....

WASHINGTON -- Question: Who has the most influence with President Bush on the volatile issue of immigration reform? (A) The employing elites who are addicted to the cheap and docile labor pool that illegal immigrants provide? (B) The working-class and middle-class voters, including many legal immigrants, in the Republican Party's base who are frustrated with the lax controls on illegals? (C) The mostly minority backlash voters who, if Congress passes the sort of a tough, enforcement-only immigration bill that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) suggests, could cost the Grand Old Party support in Florida and Southwestern states for years...