The point Mike, is that if wages for hard labor are raised sufficiently due to lack of a labor force, there will be legal people who will want those jobs. We will all pay, but there is a level of pay at which a job becomes attractive...landscaping, picking vegetables, cleaning houses...they all have their price point.
We have a wonderful woman that cleans our home that has a full-time position with Cardinal Health Care. She is a single parent of two girls and she works Saturday and Sunday mornings for us to earn enough to send both of her children to private schools. We pay her 30 dollars an hour for ten hours of work each weekend. She is employed as an independent contractor. She is trust worthy, prompt, and willing to do whatever needs to be done to help us. She feeds and helps "the Moms" when we are not here, and is willing to take vacation time from her full-time position to stay with our Mothers when we are traveling. She is willing to help when we entertain, and has even volunteered to help with yard work.
Employers will need to review the way they compensate employees, and find a way to motivate people to seek the positions they need to produce their products or services. And we as consumers will have to decide if the price charged for the products or services is justified and if we are willing to pay the price...e.g. the price of fuel these days....some are finding alternatives, some just pay, others find ways to lessen the impact. It is just economics, with a dose of politics and some moral fiber that drive the system.
