Engineering job salary

[jimj]

Originally Posted by Joe Doer

I realize the state sets the retail for liquor in the state liquor stores.

Does the state really set retail prices for cigarettes and liquor from non state owned stores? That's a new one

There's a minimum price for both items that's set by the state. Take just one item I use for cooking (believe me, that's all it's for) Jack Daniels.
For the large bottle it costs right at $50 here and about $37 in CA. To me that's nuts but it is what it is...
My wife's been in manangement for a nationwide grocery store chain and I've seen the pricing books for the U.S. zones and you're quite right it's controlled by the chain for the most part (cost + 3% +/-) and the prices are higher in some areas (sometimes only a couple of miles from a cheaper one) due to competition or demographics of the area.
The farther the food/items travel adds to the cost as well wouldn't you agree? Not much is made around western montana anymore so pretty much everything is shipped in, and now Meadowgold is closed so there's another item shipped in.

[Oildog]

That is not a good rate for an engineer. Many companies try to use, the lower cost of living and the appeal of the Rockies to low ball employees. Unfortunately this often leads to lesser qualified people and townies being the ones that take the jobs. I looked into positions in WY and MT, but they pay 20% less than in Texas...which also has no income tax and is relatively inexpensive to live. 20$/hr is only around 40k /year...most engineers w 10 years exp should be making 60k or more.

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by jimj

There's a minimum price for both items that's set by the state. Take just one item I use for cooking (believe me, that's all it's for) Jack Daniels.
For the large bottle it costs right at $50 here and about $37 in CA. To me that's nuts but it is what it is...

I really like reading the posts on here because every once in a while (well, sometimes quite often) I'll learn something new because someone points out something I didn't know.

Jimj is apparantly correct that Montana controls the price of liquor. I didn't know this one.

From the Montana Department of Revenue website:

"All agencies own their liquor inventories and are permitted to set their own retail prices. However, the State establishes prices for liquor sold to licensees and continues to run the wholesale distribution operation."

Good information, Jimj!

[Timberwolf232]

Originally Posted by Oildog

That is not a good rate for an engineer. Many companies try to use, the lower cost of living and the appeal of the Rockies to low ball employees. Unfortunately this often leads to lesser qualified people and townies being the ones that take the jobs. I looked into positions in WY and MT, but they pay 20% less than in Texas...which also has no income tax and is relatively inexpensive to live. 20$/hr is only around 40k /year...most engineers w 10 years exp should be making 60k or more.

Define "townie"..

[Joe Doer]

Originally Posted by jimj

The farther the food/items travel adds to the cost as well wouldn't you agree? Not much is made around western montana anymore so pretty much everything is shipped in, and now Meadowgold is closed so there's another item shipped in.

You might not believe how much is shipped into other states. Most of CA's beef comes in from out of the country and milk comes from out of state.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by Joe Doer

You might not believe how much is shipped into other states. Most of CA's beef comes in from out of the country and milk comes from out of state.

Some milk is, there's many dairies around N. CA still and supply the area. I'll bet you didn't know the price of milk is determined by the distance from Wisconsin... Price is determined by the Feds actually.

[Joe Doer]

Originally Posted by jimj

Price is determined by the Feds actually.

The feds control the price of milk in every state except California. The state of California has controlled wholesale prices on milk since the depression.

Many of the grocery store chains have been able to buy it cheaper from out of state. In the past few years over 150 dairies in CA closed. Recent record milk prices have been a great thing for CA dairies still in business, but those few can not satisfy the demand.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by Joe Doer

The feds control the price of milk in every state except California. The state of California has controlled wholesale prices on milk since the depression.

Many of the grocery store chains have been able to buy it cheaper from out of state. In the past few years over 150 dairies in CA closed. Recent record milk prices have been a great thing for CA dairies still in business, but those few can not satisfy the demand.

Good catch on the CA exemption, why am I not surprised they dance to their own beat. I did find this from the Sacbee "Unlike any other food, the base price of milk in California is calculated each month from a formula. State officials plug in the market prices for the four globally traded dairy commodities -- butterfat, dry milk powder, whey powder (a byproduct of cheese-making) and cheddar cheese -- and churn out the price that bottlers must pay farmers for their milk."
Well I guess I figured there were more since we only drank milk from Clover which supplied most of the Sonoma and Napa valleys as well as surrounding areas. There are dairies all over from Santa Rosa to San Rafael that supply "Clo the Cow" with mooo juice.

"Clover Stornetta Farms is a locally owned and operated dairy processing plant in Northern California. We work closely with our family farmers to bring our consumers the cleanest, tastiest and best quality dairy products on the market.

"You will find our family farms among the bucolic fields of Sonoma, Marin, and Mendocino Counties. Clover cows have lush green pasture to graze on, making them happy cows.

We have worked hard over the years to address issues that are important to you; like where does Clover milk really come from, how are the animals being treated that produce Clover milk, what is being done to sustain the land, and which milk is best for you and your family."
You can feel confident knowing that our dairy products are made with milk sourced from family farms in Marin and Sonoma counties only. These nearby farm families act as environmental stewards of the land, and 100% of the milk in our products is from cows not treated with the artificial bovine growth hormones (rBST). Clover products come directly from the farm family to the Clover family to your family. They are clean, healthy and delicious."