Not every job that pays $9.70 is necessarily dangerous, so I fail to see your point. That article is more of a representation of a greater potential issue.

> Not every job that pays $9.70 is necessarily dangerous

Right, hence the comment implying that a gas station job around that amount would get workers. But in a time where there is a significant push to make the minimum wage $15, it's not surprising that people won't do hard labor for $10.

Hard labor pays more than $10. You're missing the overall point, but OK. It still doesn't explain why foreigners take the jobs and not Americans.

Because the opportunity cost equation is different for them. $10/hr working hard labor vs. easy labor is the choice for American workers; $10/hr in the U.S. versus $4/hr elsewhere is the equation for the foreign workers. On top of that, they have the option of taking the $10/hr work for 4-6 months, and then travelling back to their home country where their cost of living is much lower and it works out the be the equivalent of $25-30/hr in purchasing power.

Maybe it'd help if the cost of living was lower here.