[Porsche-O-Phile]

Like millions of others, I was laid off last year but thankfully I was able to find another job (albeit on the opposite side of the country). If I hadn't been able to, I can confidently say I absolutely, positively WOULD have gone and picked strawberries or whatever else for $8 an hour if I couldn't find anything else (and it didn't look too promising back then). There are lots of people for whom UI is running out (it's a pittance anyway compared to a real working salary, but still...) There are many for whom earning an honest day's work actually means something versus simply sitting around doing nothing and collecting an unemployment check. There are many more for whom earning an honest day's work would actually mean an income because they CAN'T get an unemployment check anymore.

The whole thing about "illegals do the jobs Americans won't" is a crock - plain and simple. The real statement is that "illegals will do jobs more cheaply than Americans will". And that goes right to the heart of the problem. The real culprits here are the businesses that hire these people - and that goes for agribusiness, construction, meat-packing, you-name-it. Some of the worst culprits are actually residential homeowners (cheapest people on the planet) who have day laborers lining up around the block some days. They'd rather hire some illegal than do their yard work themselves or pay what an actual American landscaper charges, then has the chutzpah to b1tch and whine about how illegals are stealing our jobs. Duh.