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Your list corroborates everything I am saying. The states that are deemed "Best Places to Work" are states where per capita income is low. These states usually rank in the bottom 15 of poorest states. The states where unions have a say are typically places that big corporations hate to play in because they demand accountability and have to meet certain standards that they states set in order to do business. Texas is a shinning example of where working class people make low wages but the corporations are estatic to be there. New York is the polar opposite. Corporations have to pay top wages, offer benefits and healthcare to do business in NY. California is its own country, so it doesn't count. Did deeper and you will uncover that there is a big income gap disparity in places like Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas compared to Maryland, Connecticut, New York and Massachussetts. Income, education and healthcare, etc... are much better in the latter. Right to work really means...the right to pay you anything they want and get rid of you anytime they want for nothing at all. That's why I am blessed I don't have to live and work in these god forsaken places.
Texas kicks New York's a## in the only practical measure which is measuring the ability to make a living taking into account cost of living. Having a higher average wage in a state is meaningless if that higher wage is outpaced by an even higher cost of living. That's what these cute little measures that are always cited on this website to put down the South fail to measure. They only use raw numbers that rarely are put into any context. Here is a study that actually measures not only the raw income numbers but the cost of living in each state and where states rank as far as where people are able to make the best living. The results are eye opening. The state where I live (Alabama) rankes ahead of California, New York, and Rhode Island just to name a few. I'll gladly take a smaller income when the remarkably low cost of living means that I can live more comfortably here than in California or New York.
Your list corroborates everything I am saying. The states that are deemed "Best Places to Work" are states where per capita income is low. These states usually rank in the bottom 15 of poorest states. The states where unions have a say are typically places that big corporations hate to play in because they demand accountability and have to meet certain standards that they states set in order to do business. Texas is a shinning example of where working class people make low wages but the corporations are estatic to be there. New York is the polar opposite. Corporations have to pay top wages, offer benefits and healthcare to do business in NY. California is its own country, so it doesn't count. Did deeper and you will uncover that there is a big income gap disparity in places like Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas compared to Maryland, Connecticut, New York and Massachussetts. Income, education and healthcare, etc... are much better in the latter. Right to work really means...the right to pay you anything they want and get rid of you anytime they want for nothing at all. That's why I am blessed I don't have to live and work in these god forsaken places.
But what you neglect to mention along with low wages is a lower cost of living. You can survive on lower wages. Take my town and state (Tennessee) for example. The state ranks Number 4.
My modern apartment (built in 2007) here is two times bigger (2b, 2b) than the apartment I had in Maryland (1b, 1b) but my rent is $300 less per month. In Maryland I had annual increases of $50 at every lease signing. Here it goes up $10 every lease signing. All electric appliances in both places. Here in the twice as big apartment my electric bills are half of what I was paying in MD and despite all of the wooded land in the area, my power goes out less, too.
I have far better doctors here than I had in MD. That includes specialists. I have the same health insurance in retirement that I had when I was working.
I can't compare schools on any factor as I have no children. I don't know what the schools were like in MD compared to here.
I don't see a difference in food costs because here they have a sales tax on food so whatever saving there is on the food, it's eliminated by the sales tax.
Gasoline is typically 10 cents a gallon or more cheaper here. I've never seen a toll road/toll bridge since I've been living here. There may be one somewhere in the state but I've never seen it. Truckers rate the Tennessee stretch of I-40, the best stretch of highway in the US, every year.
I pay no state income tax.
All of our state parks are free as is the National Park. You can't hit a weekend between April and the end of October without running into some festival here in the area. Think free/cheap weekend activities for families.
Eating out is cheaper. You can eat out for lunch just about anywhere here where I live for under $10. In fact, it's cheaper to sit down and eat out for lunch in some restaurant than go to McDonalds most of the time.
No annual car inspection fee and only the big cities require emissions tests. Car registration renewal in MD $128 for two years, Tennesse same weight passenger car registration renewal for 1 year $24. I'm retired and I have more discretionary money in retirement in Tennessee than I had when I was working in Maryland.
If I worked in Tennessee, yes my wages would be lower than MD but my cost of living would be lower, too. So, Tennessee can attract businesses and pay people less but the people live just as well.
If you owned a home in NY or California and you moved to TN, you'd be doing the happy dance in the street when you got your first property tax bill here. I can promise you that.
I happen to live in a "city" (population 29,000 - 2010 census). We have our own police, fire, schools, trash pick up, utilities.
Lots of voodoo, and witchcraft which make louisiana very just i dont know not good. Maryland is more rich with alot of rich blacks. Just dont say maryland has a city full of rich blacks los angeles does. Their is a city called ladera heights in los angeles and it is all rich black people.
But what you neglect to mention along with low wages is a lower cost of living. You can survive on lower wages. Take my town and state (Tennessee) for example. The state ranks Number 4.
My modern apartment (built in 2007) here is two times bigger (2b, 2b) than the apartment I had in Maryland (1b, 1b) but my rent is $300 less per month. In Maryland I had annual increases of $50 at every lease signing. Here it goes up $10 every lease signing. All electric appliances in both places. Here in the twice as big apartment my electric bills are half of what I was paying in MD and despite all of the wooded land in the area, my power goes out less, too.
I have far better doctors here than I had in MD. That includes specialists. I have the same health insurance in retirement that I had when I was working.
I can't compare schools on any factor as I have no children. I don't know what the schools were like in MD compared to here.
I don't see a difference in food costs because here they have a sales tax on food so whatever saving there is on the food, it's eliminated by the sales tax.
Gasoline is typically 10 cents a gallon or more cheaper here. I've never seen a toll road/toll bridge since I've been living here. There may be one somewhere in the state but I've never seen it. Truckers rate the Tennessee stretch of I-40, the best stretch of highway in the US, every year.
I pay no state income tax.
All of our state parks are free as is the National Park. You can't hit a weekend between April and the end of October without running into some festival here in the area. Think free/cheap weekend activities for families.
Eating out is cheaper. You can eat out for lunch just about anywhere here where I live for under $10. In fact, it's cheaper to sit down and eat out for lunch in some restaurant than go to McDonalds most of the time.
No annual car inspection fee and only the big cities require emissions tests. Car registration renewal in MD $128 for two years, Tennesse same weight passenger car registration renewal for 1 year $24. I'm retired and I have more discretionary money in retirement in Tennessee than I had when I was working in Maryland.
If I worked in Tennessee, yes my wages would be lower than MD but my cost of living would be lower, too. So, Tennessee can attract businesses and pay people less but the people live just as well.
If you owned a home in NY or California and you moved to TN, you'd be doing the happy dance in the street when you got your first property tax bill here. I can promise you that.
I happen to live in a "city" (population 29,000 - 2010 census). We have our own police, fire, schools, trash pick up, utilities.
There are definetly some big factors people are forgetting here. "City" vs. "Town". You don't live in a major city. You live in a tiny town. The Maryland this thread is referring to is the DC suburbs. DC is a "real" city that offers amenities and cultural offerings you will never get in other places or the south period for that matter. Comparing the lifestyle of people living in NYC, DC, San Fran, Boston, Philly, and Chicago to a city in Tennessee is not applicable or N/A. There is no comparison. There is no world class food scene, world class entertainment scene, or world class neighborhoods in Tennessee. People pay a premium to live in major cities. That is why they are expensive. Subway systems, iron chefs, museums, theaters, music venues, all major pro sports etc. etc. etc. There is a reason these cities are expensive.
Also, when it comes to Modern housing as you call it, are you referring to a Class A apartment building? They don't really build those in Tennessee except a few sprinkled in downtown Nashville. High rise apartment buildings with rooftop pools and elevators with granite counter tops and stainless Steele appliances don't really come standard in Tennessee like they do in new buildings in the DC area. Not saying you don't have those things but urban living you see in major metro area's Is completely different than the apartments you would see built in the country around small towns. The demand is lower for that style of housing
Last edited by MDAllstar; 05-05-2012 at 02:31 AM..
Lots of voodoo, and witchcraft which make louisiana very just i dont know not good. Maryland is more rich with alot of rich blacks. Just dont say maryland has a city full of rich blacks los angeles does. Their is a city called ladera heights in los angeles and it is all rich black people.
Texas kicks New York's a## in the only practical measure which is measuring the ability to make a living taking into account cost of living. Having a higher average wage in a state is meaningless if that higher wage is outpaced by an even higher cost of living. That's what these cute little measures that are always cited on this website to put down the South fail to measure. They only use raw numbers that rarely are put into any context. Here is a study that actually measures not only the raw income numbers but the cost of living in each state and where states rank as far as where people are able to make the best living. The results are eye opening. The state where I live (Alabama) rankes ahead of California, New York, and Rhode Island just to name a few. I'll gladly take a smaller income when the remarkably low cost of living means that I can live more comfortably here than in California or New York.
LMAO! Are you seriously comparing Alabama to states in the Northeast? There is a general reason why Alabama is next to last in so many areas. At least it's not Mississippi.
LMAO! Are you seriously comparing Alabama to states in the Northeast? There is a general reason why Alabama is next to last in so many areas. At least it's not Mississippi.
Another thing that is missing is that states in the NE can vary in terms of COL. Upstate NY has a much lower COL than Downstate NY, for example. What helps Upstate NY in terms of services are the taxes, as overall cost of living is on par with Southern states. This mainly due to home prices and rental prices.
LMAO! Are you seriously comparing Alabama to states in the Northeast? There is a general reason why Alabama is next to last in so many areas. At least it's not Mississippi.
That person's point was that you can't just do a comparison on wages on a state-by-state basis without taking cost of living into account.
Oh give me a break dude. You're definitely out there now.
So, you believe you can get the same cultural offerings in some small town down south that you get in the mega cities around the country? There is a reason people living in NYC, DC, San Fran, Boston etc. pay so much to live there. It's about fast paced high entertainment lifestyles. Who moves to the south for fast paced high entertainment lifestyles? Atlanta is nice and is an outlier in the south but it's not on the level of the mega cities up north or out west I mentioned. Are you distputing that? Atlanta is a great city and has a lot offer, but it's not at that level. Will it reach that level one day, who knows but it's still got a ways to go. By the way, when Atlanta is on the level of the cities I mentioned, the cost of living will be no where near as cheap. They go hand and hand.
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