There Is No Such Thing As Cheap Labor
Cheap labor is only cheap from outward appearances in many respects. There is the unseen costs especially when there is family involved.
For example, an illegal alien\or resident with a wife and 2-4 kids. He takes a job for $7.00 or 8.00/hour. At that wage, with dependents, he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an "earned income credit" of up to $3,200 free. He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent. Thus, he pays up to 35% of the rent and the government pays the rest. He qualifies for food stamps and free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care. His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school and some require bilingual teachers and books, if they cannot speak English. He qualifies for relief from high energy bills.
This actually comes to the equivalent of $20-30.00 an hour. Kind of shocking. But that is not all, because these people who don't have jobs still get the welfare and they receive priority to get jobs because the government has programs. For instance, go to many retailer websites, Walmart, Target, Macy's, etc., at the end of their online form they ask a series of questions all related to if you are now receiving any welfare related benefits. The list is a good 10 questions. The more welfare you are on, the more likely you will get a job with them because the employer only pays half of the $8 wage and the government pays the balance. This program allows help for some to get off welfare or decrease their benefits, maybe. But, if you are simply between jobs and getting unemployment or living off savings, you will not be hired- you are NOT poor enough, desperate enough or destitute for such help.