[gmarx]

This change occurred in my town as well at about the same time. How do you know you are getting cause and effect right? I always assumed that after the amnesty in the first Bush administration it was just easier/cheaper/better attitude to get mexicans and the restaurants stopped hiring the high school kids. I don't think those jobs were ever considered cool for the high school kids but money is useful

[dragonwriter]

> I always assumed that after the amnesty in the first Bush administration

A minor nitpick, but you are probably referring to the amnesty component of the 1986 immigration reform law, which was during the Reagan Administration, not the first Bush Administration.

[gmarx]

Thanks

[greedo]

Well, having worked there, and knowing how racist the owners/upper mgmt were, they would have preferred to hire only whites. Any productivity gains by hiring immigrants who "might" have worked harder were lost at least initially with communication issues until we had enough Spanish speakers to make things operate smoothly. And while we did have a few slacker white kids who just wanted an easy paycheck, I can't say that was true of the majority of white teens we employed.