Oh, gdogni. I tried to make this short, but it can't be said in a few sound bites. Who was doing the jobs before the illegals came? They were being done. Have we been quick to buy the idea that Americans don't want to do these jobs because we, ourselves, wouldn't want to do them? Americans have done jobs for many years I wouldn't want to have to do. I would do anything I could do, if necessary, but I do have my 'druthers. I wish you could have talked with the young woman I just spent time with the other day. She was almost in tears because she was pretty sure she was going to loose her jobs because the company had just brought in a new group of illegals. She commuted 60 miles - one way - to work on the assembly line of a chicken processing plant. I've been just in the office of a processing plant and my stomach lurched from the smell. It's a job I don't want to have to do - but others have for many years. She said, in a shakey voice, 'I've just got to have this job.' The shocking thing she told me is, if this company lays someone off, not fired for reason, but laid off because of slowdowns, etc., they will only rehire you one time. That means you can be rehired, but if laid off again (because a batch of illegals come in) you are no longer 'qualified' to work for that company. By way of their hiring practices, they are creating 'unqualified' workers in the area. People know to not apply for the job again. So when the news media goes to the spokesman for that company he/she can say things like 'we just can't find qualified workers', or 'we just haven't had any applicants' or the old stand by 'no one wants to do these kinds of jobs'. Neither they nor the media are going to tell you they fixed the situation. When you see jobs being filled by illegals - the only thing that means is they have the job. It means absolutely nothing else. We don't know how many others applied for the job, and didn't get it. One thing you have to realize is that in many areas, people are aware that only illegals will be hired, and they don't even apply. I saw illegals building the houses that got built in the frenzy of the last few years. Can we assume that Americans no longer wanted to do carpentry, dry walling, electrical,plumbing, bricklaying?? I don't think so. I know a lot who wanted the jobs. They are a bargain to employers because the employers have no responsibility. They don't have to comply with overtime laws, collect and match taxes, worry about OSHA regulations, workman's comp. If one gets hurt, they are taken to the hospital and the taxpayers pay for it. The media and the politicians are not giving out the true story on this. Now the reason I mentioned illegals was the fact they are working here. Americans already are competing with them for jobs, and if things get bad, it will be even more so. There is nothing wrong with mowing lawns and bussing tables, but that is not the only jobs they are doing. We will be hampered by the fact employers will have to work within the labor laws when hiring Americans, so given the choice, they will take illegals. The illegals are also getting benefits that are going to be needed for American families who loose their jobs. Again, just because Americans aren't doing the jobs, don't assume they won't or don't want to - now - but especially in the future.

Hi Neo, I guess that's where we run into a problem - we're just not sure if we're paying a fair amount for the labor/material for the ductwork, but it seems like we'll just have to go on instinct on this one. The installer from Costco won't give us the cost of just the Lennox equipment, so we don't have that number as well =( I will definitely verify about the evap coil and the valv - good to know! The XP17 is a single stage - initially we looked at a 2 stage, but we didn't see the need for it, so decided on the XP17. Here's the electric rates for our area: Basic charge $7.00 per month Delivery charge 2.887 cents per kWh Energy charge, Winter (November through April billing cycles) First 800 kWh 4.356 cents per kWh Next 2,200 kWh 6.001 cents per kWh Over 3,000 kWh 7.220 cents per kWh Energy charge, Summer (May through October billing cycles) First 800 kWh 4.356 cents per kWh Next 900 kWh 6.001 cents per kWh Over 1,700 kWh 7.220 cents per kWh Given that we rarely go below freezing for sustained periods - I think a heat pump is perfect for our climate too (nor do we get heat extremes). Also, since we have NO heat at night typically (we turn the pellet stoves off), I think we'll be happy with even a cool 62 in our house! Thanks again for your help!

I don't agree: "This suggests that one of main differences between OFHEO and Case-Shiller was that Case-Shiller included many non-agency homes financed with subprime loans. These homes saw more appreciation during the boom, and are now seeing larger price declines. Whatever the reasons, the Case-Shiller index seems to more accurately reflect the current price declines in the housing market, as opposed to the OFHEO index. And this has significant implications for the economy." See here: http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/01/house-prices-comparing-ofheo-vs-case.html OFHEO's own economists agrees: http://www.ofheo.gov/media/research/OFHEOSPCS12008.pdf

No, cmarlin, I was not talking about self-employed people. And as for 'Ughhh, I don't want to be like those other countries. Look at the total picture, do you really want to have that?' Yes, I would. Among other things, a system in which such things as healthcare are not at the whim of the employer would stabilize a lot of lives. If it weren't for the huge jump in my healthcare costs due to changing jobs - new copays are much, much higher - we would be able to keep our house. (Guess that's my own fault for having the bad taste to get a chronic illness and not recover or die. :-) I'm very grateful for the coverage I do have, of course, considering I spent the first 2 1/2 years I was ill with no medical care whatsoever. But it doesn't make it any more pleasant when a prescription that cost me $10 in December now costs me $50 or more.) 'How can a full time employee get no paid vacation? I work in employee benefits and don't understand that one.' Before I became disabled in the mid-1990s, I had never received either paid vacation days, paid holidays, or paid sick days: I didn't work, I didn't get paid, it was as simple as that. I don't know what there is to understand or not understand. I worked in the restaurant business - almost entirely for independents, not chains, since I preferred actually cooking to reheating and assembling prepackaged stuff. ;-) Most of my friends and family are at the lowest income levels (some of them make not much more than minimum wage) and work for smaller companies, and those two factors tend to drastically reduce access to benefits like paid time off. The more you get paid in the private sector, the more likely you are to get paid time off and other nice bennies... at the other end, you get to be happy you have a job at all. (Anyone read Barbara Ehrenreich's 'Nickel & Dimed'?) In the US there is NO 'right' to paid time off of any kind; even the FMLA provides only for unpaid time off, which in the lower income levels is a joke. The Fair Labor Standards Act says specifically that there is no legal right to pay for hours not worked (even for Federal holidays where the employee may be involuntarily prevented from working because the workplace is closed). I have posted a link below to the report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research on vacation/paid leave time in the US versus other countries. Here is a link that might be useful: 'No-Vacation Nation'