There is a lot of press, lately, about the Housing Bust. Many facets from home furnishing, building suppliers, hardware stores, etc., of the economy are beginning to feel the pinch. Unemployment in the construction sector is rising but the real hardship is at the bottom of this process. Most of the carpenters, roofers, and other building craftsman, in this new building economy, are illegal aliens. They are at the bottom of the food chain; the first to be cut loose when building stopped. This is where the maximum amount of pain is being applied right now, before Christmas. Many of these workers tend to go home around this time of year to be with their families, who have been the beneficiaries of their paycheck here in the US. These families are also feeling the pinch and will feel the pinch for some time. It takes money to get to the U. S, and with no jobs to return to, it is not likely that many of these workers will be returning in January. That will go a long way towards solving some of our immigration problems but what of those left stranded in the here? It's like ripples in the pond; the housing bust will illuminate the extent of how the construction economy, the population growth economy, we've been enjoying (and complaining about) extends into our overall economic, political and social system. We might also find out what it will cost for to continue this growth if we have to face a "day without a Mexican".Change is always good, at least that is what I think. It creates new opportunities and forces us to look at the world in a little different way. I wonder how this will all wring next November when the rubber meets the road in the Presidential election.
