Economy Vexes GOP at South Carolina Debate

Foreclosures are at record highs, home sales are at record lows and skittish consumers are cutting back on spending, all of which means contractors, construction crews and carpenters are no longer hiring. Neither are landscapers, cleaning services or homeowners.

Work, never a given for day laborers in the best of times, is almost nonexistent these days.

These are the worst of times, would-be worker Ramon De la Cruz said recently in Spanish, noting that he had worked only one day in the previous six.

De la Cruz came here from Tabasco, Mexico three years ago to earn money to provide for his daughter, now 5. Only a year ago, he could still make $500 a week.

But Graton (pop. 1,815), sits in western Sonoma County, which has been hit hard by the housing downturn. read more