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Immigration and the loss of American jobs are not connected to a very large degree. Although it is true that occasional some Americans have been passed over for employment when an illegal immigrant could be paid much more cheaply under the table, this is not the main reason why jobs for Americans are disappearing.

Outsourcing

Busine ss owners discovered in the late 1980's that they could pay outsourced employees less than domestic ones. Overseas workers didn't need to be paid even a minimum wage, let alone any kind of benefits. First, only factory jobs went overseas. Then, when customer service jobs began going overseas, too, Americans really began to panic. These were jobs that Americans actually wanted.

But outsourcing is now standard practice in American businesses. Jobs that used to be considered domestic like customer service representatives, factory workers or IT jobs are sent overseas where the American dollar is stronger than that country's currency.

Now, what does that leave the American workers? Very few jobs left. And Americans want the highest paying jobs they can find. These jobs require references, resumes and a decent wardrobe. No American really wants to pick crops or wash dishes at a diner or scrub floors at less than minimum wage for the rest of their lives.

Some immigrants find work for themselves rather than enter the American job market at all. Some immigrants can only find work in America selling tin cans to recycling plants. That means they have to work at least twelve hours a day and they maybe just maybe are able to afford to feed themselves.

Easy Scapegoats

These are the jobs immigrants are supposedly taking away from Americans - jobs Americans never wanted in the first place. American jobs are being lost by the owners of American businesses themselves outsourcing many jobs. Immigrants (illegal or legal) are then pointed at as a convenient scapegoat by the real people who are the enemies of the American workers big business.

What American wants to blame the very businesses you want to try and get jobs from? Besides, American businesses can afford advertising, spin doctors and lobbyists, while illegal immigrants can't.

The reason there are not many jobs available in America is because of American business greed. However, they are so financially and politically powerful, we feel that we really have no choice but to dance to their tunes.

But Americans are resourceful and will adapt. Already, there is a rise in telecommuting and home businesses, which will hopefully challenge the way big business is run, especially in how they treat their employees.

Learn more about this author, Rena Sherwood.
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