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KELO mentions a survey by the Northwest Area Foundation on perceptions of the economy among South Dakotans and our neighbors. Some key findings for South Dakota:
- 50% of us rate our local economies as "only fair" (33%) or "poor" (17%).
- 58% of us are worried that our local economies will get worse this year. Rural folks are the most pessimistic among us, with 65% worried about worse local economic times ahead. (Those of you who think the local economy will actually get better this year, please check in! You cheery 35% must have access to some secret LAIC report.)
- 57% of South Dakotans say a family of four needs $40,000 or more to make ends meet. (Official poverty level for a family of four: $21,027.)
The optimists in this survey are right: we can help people make ends meet... but only if we focus on real economic issues. We need to have an honest conversation about economic issues, and that means we have to be willing to acknowledge that life in rural South Dakota is not all a rosy Chamber of Commerce visitor's guide photo. Honest conversation means something other than the political gotcha games of ABC News and the political spin doctors who would call a man an elitist for telling the truth. Let's get our priorities straight and return to politics that are actually about something. Our economic well-being depends on it.
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p.s.: A majority of South Dakotans say it takes a yearly income of $40,000 or more to provide for a family. A majority of South Dakota communities pay their teachers less than $40,000 a year (average: $34,700). Conclusion: a majority of South Dakota communities don't think teaching is worth a living family wage?
How many other professions, requiring at least a BA or BS degree, also don't pay $40,000 a year in SD? Lot's actually, and those other professions for the most part have to work 50 weeks a year, assuming they get two weeks of paid vacation per year. Let's do some comparisons here before simply saying teachers aren't paid a living wage.
ReplyDeleteHey, Anon, I'm not saying it: 57% of South Dakotans are. Feel free to provide your list of other professions not paying a living wage; I'll raise heck for all of them. That still doesn't change the analysis that teachers aren't getting one, either.
ReplyDeleteYour conclusion should read:
ReplyDeleteConclusion: a majority of South Dakota communities don't think any job is worth a living family of 4 wage.
I'll second that amendment.
ReplyDeleteI'm not willing to pay 50 dollars more in taxes to help others. Why? Because I want to keep that 50 and use it to help others myself. That way, the others get the 50 dollars. If we do it through taxes, how much do they actually get? First you have to take out the cost of collecting the money, then the cost of operating a beauracracy to decide how it should be spent, then the cost of distributing the money. And the way our government does it, those poor others might end up with 10 dollars. Higher taxes and bigger government is not the answer. Oh, and the government's help would be to spend the 10 dollars on fish, while I would use my 50 to help them learn how to fish. (As the saying goes.)
ReplyDeleteDRK
I would suggest that if so many South Dakotans see their local economies going downhill (and don't want them to), they ought to be focusing more of their spending locally.
ReplyDeleteThe situation is far from hopeless, but only if folks can identify (and pursue!) ways to direct their everyday spending so that it helps their local economy.
Our local economies do not need to be dragged down by or with the national and world economies--but our local development organizations need to see how encouraging and boostering many small local businesses will be far more helpful than bringing in the next shiny-new Mall-Mart.
See you at the farmers market!