I take issue with the idea that the problem employers face in Jackson is a lack of visas for employees.
 
These employers don't act like these employees are of any value when visas are easy to come by. Not when the 'prevailing wage' for hotel cleaners is under $8/hr. That's a joke in one of the most expensive places to live in the US. Despite this, many Americans do the exact same jobs as immigrants right here in Jackson. From landscaping to construction to housekeeping, Americans are doing these jobs in Jackson with employers who dish out better pay. The other employers offer up horrible wages for jobs that are anything but rewarding. They have only themselves to blame for the problems they face.
 
In Jackson, we still employee around 2000 immigrants each summer. One reason is that we have no housing for Americans. The housing that is available is snapped up by immigration lawyers for their clients (employers and visa workers). It's a cycle that feeds on itself and makes the the problem worse. Millions of Americans would love to live and work in Jackson, WY, (home to great skiing, our Vice President Dick Cheney, and two national parks). But Americans can't find housing even if they do find a job. Or they can't find a job that pays for housing and all the other basic costs of living. There may be 3 rentals in our town while there are 100's of jobs. Even If employers got all the visa workers they asked for, they couldn't even house them. We have a housing shortage combined with a shortage of employers willing to compete for American labor.
 
Many businesses expanded, or started up, in Jackson knowing full well that we have a workforce problem. Many employers had a business plan that depended upon immigrant labor from day one. Why should they get a bailout for stupid planning? The government doesn't ensure me a high paying job, so why should it ensure cheap labor for employers? Why should the govt. bailout these businesses with imported labor?  Cheap labor--imported or not--is a subsidy for the business community because taxpayers pick up the tab for subsidized housing, medical care, schooling, transportation, translation services, resource centers for immigrants, etc. Enough already. Let the rich mow their own lawns if no one else will. Let customers pay the true cost of American goods and services instead of getting a discount from cheap imported labor. Do we really need another fast food joint, another motel, another million visitors to this fragile environment? I don't think so. Do we really need to grow rice in the desert with imported labor and scarce water while subsidizing the grower with taxpayer dollars? Cheap labor isn't good for America.
 
In regards to the idea that the employers must attest to the fact that the can't find Americans and offer up "prevailing wages', I would say that prevailing wages are often nothing more that "immigrant wages"--wages immigrants have accepted and have become "prevailing" because they now command the majority of employees in these fields. The wages never keep up with inflation and often fall as immigrants crowd the marketplace with their labor (see 2007 Wall Street Journal story on construction wages since the influx of immigrants--laws of supply and demand are pretty simple). Employers only have to advertise a job for 10 days before running to the government and demanding imported labor. Many don't even advertise in the community they conduct business in because they don't want to advertise their wages locally as required by law (the law doesn't require local advertising). Most of these businesses don't want American labor anyway unless it's a last resort.
 
The business community has plenty of other options---hire folks from South LA (blacks have a high unemployment rate there), American Samoa, or Michigan. Pay better wages. Build employee housing. Offer better working environments--from flex time to job sharing. What the business community really wants are indentured servants who have no other options for work in the community--they can't leave for a better job. This is the a visa worker. They don't want Americans. Americans want better pay and benefits. Americans can switch jobs. They want employees on demand who have no other options for employment. I have applied for many "immigrant" positions. I always ask for more money. The business community always turn me down.
 
Enough is enough. The shortage of labor is GOOD for Jackson and America.