A couple weekends ago, I went tubing up north Florida. I saw a bus load of Mexicans at the gas station. My thought, Where the hell ? They going..

PLANT CITY — On a Wednesday afternoon, in the gravel lot of El Expreso bus depot, Benito Ramos waits with his life packed in several plastic tubs.

After eight years in the United States, he is going home to Hidalgo, Mexico, to his mother and a small concrete block house built with the money earned clearing tables in Tampa restaurants.

“You can’t survive like before,” said Ramos, 28, standing in front of the clapboard depot building with its low-slung porch filled with passengers and suitcases.

When times were good, Ramos worked 16 hours a day at two restaurants, five days a week. His weekly check was $520. But for months, bosses have slashed his schedule. He was lucky to work six hours a day for two or three days, bringing in just $117 a week.

“It got to the point where you can’t pay rent, you can’t pay the bills,” he said.

A few weeks ago, Ramos bought a bus ticket and joined legions — perhaps thousands — of illegal immigrants going back home.

The reason, immigrants and experts say, is the slow economy — particularly the crash of the construction industry and the slowdown in the retail and low-wage service sectors.

No one is certain about the size of the exodus. One group says the undocumented population has dropped 11 percent in a year. Other experts dispute those findings and say the decline is much smaller.

One thing seems clear: Those leaving tend to be single or unattached men like Ramos. They now face stiff competition from legal and illegal immigrants who had climbed the economic ladder and put down roots during the construction boom. Now they’re all scrambling for jobs — even returning to the fields — and also face competition from out-of-work Americans.

Struggling and lonely, the single men say there’s no point in staying.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article791045.ece

This should let you know the economy is hard right now. When you have a presidential candidate who can not fathom to remember .. How many properties he owns? Hmm, Should we (job seekers) be heading to Mexico too? (Oh! Hell No!) Lately, I’ve been pondering overseas employment. But, the world is not stable with countries waring unexpectedly.

Who will fill the jobs that they left empty? Did the company fold? Is the company using less labor and making the remaining worker work more hours?  hmm! Will Americans be willing to work these low end jobs? Whether it is picking feathers off of chickens or tomatoes off vines or working  construction.

Damn the Mexicans are leaving too!