"Living in the shadows" is a joke. The young ladies have no problem applying for medicaid when they get pregnant so that the American taxpayers can pay for the deliveries of however many new little "American citizens" they create. They just as quickly apply for food stamps as soon as they have the babies. I seriously doubt many want to work legally because then all their earnings would be tracked just like all of ours are and their benefits would be reduced. It's much better to work under the table and let American taxpayers pay the medical bills and buy all the groceries so that their money can be used for whatever else they want. What a life. Paid for by you and me. Our gift to our friends south of the border and overseas too.

I don't know why everyone didn't see our economic crash coming. A large part of the middle class was comprised of assembly workers. When all those jobs went to other countries, the middle-class was wiped out. It's hard on older people when they lose those factory jobs they've had 20-30 years because they've usually destroyed their bodies from years of lifting things they shouldn't have or overusing different muscles, They have back and joint problems, carpal tunnel, etc. I'm in my 50's and can't believe the number of people (mostly men) my age who have died in the last few years and many probably were on SSDI first. If this is more than a local trend, we won't have to worry about the male baby boomers retiring, most won't be alive.

The town I live in was a booming manufacturing town when i was younger. Our factories started relocating or shutting down 25 years ago. My dad had worked 2 jobs all his life. It was a good thing he had the second job because he was over 50 when he lost his primary employment. It didn't matter that he was a dedicated and responsible employee all those years, he and the others over 50 couldn't find jobs. My dad worked his part-time job until he died suddenly at 72. A few years ago I was a temporary worker for Div of Workforce Dev. Nothing has changed, the people over 50 who had worked at a large local factory couldn't find other jobs even after going back to school on the taxpayers' dime. Employers prefer younger workers.