Flooring Installer Stung by Illegal Immigration

The American consumer's addiction to cheap labor and products is to blame for the influx of illegal immigrants who undercut building contractors in the U.S., according to a story from The Orange County Register. Scott Powelson, a high school graduate who was a professional flooring installer for 30 years in Southern California, told the newspaper that for most of his career-spanning intermittent economic booms-there was always enough work to go around even though the number of flooring dealers using illegal immigrants was rising. However, during the latest economic bust, he threw in the towel and got out of the flooring business because he wouldn't work for the reduced wages he says the illegal workers subject themselves to; he even likens the low wages for which illegal immigrants work to slavery. These days Powelson spends his time working with an immigration reform coalition.