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The construction industry is about to come to a screeching halt....my son, a CSM

augusta courter · 2025-06-06T01:34:27.713Z

major is interning in Charleston. One of the subs on site TODAY had workers running from a jobsite in Fort Mill due to an ICE raid. My son asked "who is going to do the work?". I had and have no answers. An apartment building CANNOT be built now without undocumented workers. ZERO chance. A large scale concrete project CANNOT be built without similar workers. Was on a site yesterday locally with a huge hispanic population that I have no idea will be there next week. Lots of my buddies who are higher ups in the construction field are not yet freaking out, but are prepping their reasons why the jobs will not be completed on time in the event ICE comes calling. The sky is not yet falling, but it's getting close. Guess I'll cross my fingers and hope for a wave of skilled laborers to miraculously appear, and then I'll tell owners that their projects are about to cost 1/3 more because of the current environment. Good times. Go Tigers.

During the first term of president Obamas run, I believe we were still recovering from the housing crisis that rocked construction. I know I lost my job, because the concrete industry that I was working in saw a major fall off in home developments, and commerical construction. I was lucky that I was able to get a job quickly, but I was supporting federal government construction (the only one spending money at the time.) So I say that the drop in demand for construction during 2008 helped mask the need for this labor source during that time.

Biden time Frame, construction was down for the first 2 years. Its still down. Even though housing demand is high, there are not a lot of new neighborhoods that are being built. At least not where I live. Construction cost in general are extremely high, and I think that is because available labor is not there to support. So its high cost to build coupled with high interest rates, which is why the market is fairly frozen still.

Any way just my take.

Just to add on. I am not for "open boarders". But I do think we need immigrants desperately. we need a major influx of young people/ labor so that we can fill out the growth triangle. We just need to get some policies in place to help with distributing people through out our great country so that no one place gets overrun. I can appreciate folks complaints regarding this, and they should be addressed. That said, our overall national economy will be in bad shape if we dont keep growing our population. We have to make sure that we have more young people than old. Our economy will not work otherwise.

Just my thoughts..

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There are some times when I would just love to dox myself.

Jun 6, 2025, 10:27 AM [ in reply to People risking life and limb to come here to work are slaves? ]

This is one of those threads.

All I will say is that, from the most 1st-hand knowledge possible to obtain, and document, I know that fully 99% of those here in the US, working, illegally, are doing it to leverage dollars. 99% are sending money "back home" to SOMEONE, and that someone "back home" will then be able to afford a floor in their hut, insulin for their diabetes, heart surgery, electricity, a phone, college and/or night school, and a nice house eventually.

It's all about labor. America is rich, and we mostly care about money. Poor countries, they care mostly about labor. Dollar leveraging, for the illegal (or legal) immigrant, is the carrot on the stick. And the stronger the dollar is against another currency, the more it pays if someone from that country can make it into the US and get a job. American dollars act as a labor multiplier for poor people in other countries with weak currencies. Jose can be a surgeon in Caracas, Venezuela, working 60 hour weeks, and making the equivalent of $50 a week, and he's at the TOP of the income chain, THERE. Jose can send his wife to the US, she can work as a housekeeper at a Motel 6, and make $600 a week. She sends that back to her husband Jose, and that's like him working 10 weeks, in a single week. He can take her housekeeping salary (or whatever she can send back) and leverage that to buy 10x more STUFF THERE, than he could otherwise buy with his own labor, as a freaking surgeon.

Last year a roofer died in SC. He was from Venezuela. Back in Venezuela he was a medical doctor. He CHOSE to quit his medical doctor job in Venezuela and come to SC and CHOSE to do roofing work BECAUSE was making (sending) 10 times more money back home roofing houses in SC, than he could ever make seeing sick Venezuelans in Venezuela.

The dollar return is less for other countries. It's declined greatly in Mexico over the decades, so we see less illegal Mexicans than in the past, but we see more Venezuelans. Wherever the dollar is stronger, and the the local currency is weaker, that's your biggest pool of potential immigrant workers.

Same principle applies to imports. Dollar leveraging, still at play, labor still being exchanged. With imports we send the dollars to the country to some company, and in the other country they make the product cheaper (dollar leveraging), and ship it to the US cheaper than we can make it here. And this system benefits Americans because we get better stuff, bigger houses, nicer cars, more features, cheaper underwear, etc. It benefits the illegal workers here (and their families back home), and millions around the world working for American dollars in foreign countries. It benefits American companies, whose profit margins are much greater, leveraging dollars with foreign labor.

With these benefits, comes GREAT RESPONSIBILITY though. Because with the benefits of this system, there is a byproduct that is also a very useful tool, but must be CAREFULLY controlled. With cheaper goods we get deflationary pressure on the domestic dollar. That means low inflation, and that means CHEAP DEBT. You can then take out debt, and leverage those dollars with foreign labor for a 3-1/6-1/40-1(Vietnam) return, making that debt EASY to service. Take out a $1 million loan. Paying maybe what, 4% yearly interest, then send that $1 million to Vietnam where they make shoes at a Nike factory. Send those shoes back to the US, and they sell for $40 million. You pay back your $1 million loan and your profit is $39 million (minus shipping and other middlemen). ENTIRE industries, and sectors of our economy, have developed, and exist, ONLY because of these benefits in dollar leveraging. You end up with MANY middlemen in the supply chain also taking some of those profits along the way. Labor. It's what Americans don't understand. It is specifically what Donald Trump doesn't understand. it is the weakness in capitalism, always has been, ever since Karl Marx pointed it out (accurately I might add).

And no one has been more irresponsible in not only facilitating this system, but also abusing the cheap debt it creates, and that is none other than our Congress. Old CatTurd over on twitter/xitter and I both agree, 75% of America's problems, are a result of our Congress. Elon Musk has finally come around too. Warren Buffett, 80% of Americans agree on this. The other 20% (or less) approve of the job Congress is doing.

Trump destroys our country. Congressional term limits, and forcing a balanced budget, saves it. The choice is ours to make, and the opportunity is there for someone GOOD to lead.

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The construction industry is about to come to a screeching halt....my son, a CSM

Re: The construction industry is about to come to a screeching halt....my son, a CSM

Pretty much what I told him...I dunno... I don't know immigration law,

Re: Pretty much what I told him...I dunno... I don't know immigration law,

More and faster.

Round up the contractors too that

Re: The construction industry is about to come to a screeching halt....my son, a CSM

Re: The construction industry is about to come to a screeching halt....my son, a CSM

Re: The construction industry is about to come to a screeching halt....my son, a CSM

Re: The construction industry is about to come to a screeching halt....my son, a CSM

You're funny. I'm just looking for some thoughtful discussion based

People risking life and limb to come here to work are slaves?

Re: People risking life and limb to come here to work are slaves?

Re: People risking life and limb to come here to work are slaves?

There are some times when I would just love to dox myself.

Re: The construction industry is about to come to a screeching halt....my son, a CSM

The real fun will come during and after hurricane season

My son works for a national

We're doing great, too, although there is A LOT of pumping the

Re: The construction industry is about to come to a screeching halt....my son, a CSM

Re: The construction industry is about to come to a screeching halt....my son, a CSM

As much a Id like to see that; Id wager otherwise.

Re: As much a Id like to see that; Id wager otherwise.

Re: As much a Id like to see that; Id wager otherwise.

Stalled out projects all over south Florida

We're in a pickle. I believe you folks in the business when you say "we need

I'm locked in a 2.5% mortgage

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