"More than work ethic, it's actually a willingness to work issue. Americans are getting accustomized to live on unemployment benefits." Exactly why do hard labor when you can sit around and collect unemployment, welfare, food stamps, housing, etc.
this is the statement I took exception too. I am sure you know texas roofing... but I was not speaking to roofing as much as I was speaking to the idea that white people are not good laborers. Which I think is racist bull shit. My point was white people worked manual jobs and some were happy to do it when the pay was better. With lousy pay you are going to get the guys who just got out of jail on a meth rap. What are you paying your workers an hour right now? What did you pay them in 1996. What would the pay have been in in 86. Now compare that with the cost of living. I know business to get loyal talent you need to pay 20 something bucks and hour. Friends of mine were making 22 an hour working construction in the 80s. I know white guys were having trouble getting paid 12 to 15 an hour from subs during the construction boom in Florida a few years ago. So while I do not know construction -- I did have two houses built in Florida and I do know the mexicans subs drove the white subs out of business by severely undercutting them.
I think you are absolutely right on this one. I have lots of experience with small business. When you pay low, you get what you pay for! When you pay a good wage, you also give people hopes of saving money, buying a house, maybe sending a child to college. That creates loyalty.
I know it's racial bullshit but I will not hire a white roofing crew. I've been doing what I do a long time, I've been burned by the white crews, so have my competition. So right or wrong I'm not going to make that mistake again. The Mexican sub who runs his own crew can easily make over $100,000 a year with some of the good ones making close to $200,000 during a good storm year. I don't pay subs by the hour. One of my subs has a 5 man crew including himself, I pay him from 9 to 14 thousand a week. They work 5 days a week. He covers his truck and dump fees in this amount and pays his men. By any standard he has a high paying small business. So who is he pushing out of the market by making over $100,000 a year ? You guys haven't tried to hire American born men to do this work, they are not out there. I have a friend from Mexico he is one of the best subs in town and works for a large roofing company. He hasn't payed taxes on less than $120,000 in eight years. He is trying to train his son, American born and raised to help run the business. Guess what, it isn't working, even knowing how much his dad makes and knowing that he can work up to a large income, he isn't working out. Too American for a hard bust ass job. I'm just one man with one small business so my experiences may be isolated. I hope you guys are right about American workers. But I'm not going to risk my income and business trying to find em. And for the record I get excellent work from my subs, I am very lucky to have such hard working and dedicated workers. The quality and work ethic and good attitude beats anything I've ever seen, and considering how damn hot and hard residential roofing is makes it even more impressive.
Once emptied of superfluous citizens, the U.S. could become a kind of giant Aspen for the small population of the super-rich and their non-voting immigrant retainers. Many environmentalists might approve of the depopulation of North America, because sprawling suburbs would soon be reclaimed by the wilderness. And deficit hawks would be pleased as well. The middle-class masses dependent on Social Security and Medicare would have departed the country, leaving only the self-sufficient rich and foreign guest workers without any benefits, other than the charity of their employers. ____________________________________________________ Umm RETHINK your theory. Read "Atlas Shrugged", that is the end game that will happen to America. The FREELOADERS will be left to die, fend and govern each other. Nice try. The super rich will not live here, nor will the producers, capitalist and those who think for themselves. They will creat a society somewhere else base on the principles of Democracy, Freedom and Land, labor, capital and Resources...the Pure foundation of Capitalism...not some bullshit STOCK MARKET theory of producing wealth...lending money 100x ones wages, the idea of "Free Money" will be out the window.
There are rights in this country, for all. Even though some on this board think it is only for certain few. The super rich will live where they can have the most security, laws, order for thier families. There are maybe 5 countries you would want to live in if you were a billionaire and US, is definitely one that would give you the best lifestyle of safety, education and living standards. Would you want to be a billionaire and live in India, South Korea, Russia, Japan, Columbia? nope EF