Pittsburgh per capita income in top 10 after adjustments (Greensburg, Industry: apartment, for rent)

[BrianTH]

Here is an interesting study of per capita income in metro areas over 1 million adjusted for purchasing power parity (basically cost of living) and estimated taxation rates (estimated because they had to impute state-level taxation averages to the metro areas), using 2006 figures:

Go to Middle America, Young Men & Women | Newgeography.com

The upshot is that Pittsburgh moves up from #20 to #7 when you factor in PPP, and back down but only to #9 when you factor in estimated taxation as well.

Pittsburgh is not unique in experiencing this sort of move up, and necessarily that meant other cities moved down--the basic pattern was various "middle-America" cities moving up and various coastal and Sun Belt cities moving down, although some cities in these categories held their respective places.

[dugdogmaster]

But, but, but.......

[Internet Superman]

I think what you are reading is what you want to read.

Just like the propaganda Obama is telling everyone, that things are OK and everybody is doing good and we are out of this depression.

When in fact, things are not doing good and there are a lot of people who do not have a job right now and the only people who might even think they have job security is the managers and upper level corporate executives.

You do not see any growth.

If you read the Sundays edition of the Greensburgh Tribune Review, you would see that there was maybe half of one page of jobs available for people who do not have a education - and is looking for entry level work.

In return, the employers has for years only hired people with 2 to 3 years of experience. Basically what that tells me is that they are looking at a short term gain, but a long term loss.

We are not teaching our youth how to carry on this torch and in the end, we are going to end up with more and more robberies and deaths and drug deals on our streets.

If you were a employer, my advice to you would be to wake up and smell the coffee. Quit your bottom line programs where you only hire experienced people and where the only thing you are concerned about is filling your pockets with money and start hiring people with no experience and train these people to fill these positions so that some where down the road when your older employees retire - you have a trained workforce.

The problem with this whole state is that Industry has left the area.

When we had the steel mills and the pollution we had jobs and we had money and people worked and the state prospered.

Now all we have is white collar criminals, people who scams and steals other peoples money and we think that is great.

Billy May's was one of the biggest scammers out there, and we celebrated his death like he was a hero. While at the same time, thousands of hard working Pennsylvanian's die every day and there is no parade and no tv coverage of their funerals.

We actually think that it is ok to be a criminal- as long as you don't get caught and as long as you pay your taxes. Thats why so many of these investment brokers has not been hung by their necks when they misappropriated other peoples money. And when they invested peoples pensions and took risks because they didn't care. Even when they make a bad investment - they still get paid. I never heard of a business where you reward people for doing poorly.

Sooner or later the Social Security checks are going to end and you are going to see lot's of people jumping off bridges and you are going to see the poor houses reopen just like they had 200 years ago. Where the retired people who cannot work will be forced to move to and live while their spoiled rotten kids lives the good life on the money that they scammed off their parents.

I could make a graph that would show how everyone in Pittsburgh would be millionair's by the time they were 60, as long as they didn't buy anything and as long as they ate surplus food and did not have any utilities connected to their homes and walked everywhere they went.

But people are not going to live like hermits and they are not going to get rid of their automobiles and they are not going to save their money and they rely heavily on credit to get them through all the trials and trivulations. Only when it comes time to make the payment on those credit cards and those house payments, they default and declair bankrupcy and we get stuck paying the bill.

It takes two incomes to live in Pittsburgh!

If you do not have a wife or a husband or a live in boyfried / girlfriend, you are not going to make it unless you have a damn good job and make lot's of money!

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Internet Superman

It takes two incomes to live in Pittsburgh!

This makes me laugh. I was a stay-at-home mother for 8 years!

Originally Posted by Internet Superman

If you do not have a wife or a husband or a live in boyfried / girlfriend, you are not going to make it unless you have a damn good job and make lot's of money!

I know many people who live on one income in Pittsburgh. You either make minimum wage or aspire to live above your means.

[ferrarisnowday]

Let's see, 10 bucks an hour is going to net you around 1200 a month after 30% taxes (which is probalby much higher than what someone making that much would actually be taxed).

~450 for rent
~150 for a decent car
~100 for utilities
~100 for TV, internet, phone

That's only 800 for the "essentials" (a lot could be shaved off that budget) and you'll still have 400 left for food, gas, and entertainment. It's not luxurious living by any means, and you aren't going to support a family on it very easily, but there's no reason you can't live off a meager wage in Pittsburgh.

[BrianTH]

It is true that the era of plentiful good-paying jobs for people with minimal education and training has come to an end. But fundamentally there is nothing that we can do about that, since that era was ended more by technology than public policy. So, public policy has to be adjusted, but adjusted to help people deal with this new reality not try to undo it, because there is no way to stop technological advancement.

[dugdogmaster]

Originally Posted by Internet Superman

You do not see any growth.

Have you seen the GDP findings recently released? I'm assuming not from this statement.

[bethany12]

Originally Posted by Internet Superman

I think what you are reading is what you want to read.

Just like the propaganda Obama is telling everyone, that things are OK and everybody is doing good and we are out of this depression.

When in fact, things are not doing good and there are a lot of people who do not have a job right now and the only people who might even think they have job security is the managers and upper level corporate executives.

You do not see any growth.

You are dead on.

[Hopes]

Bethany and Internet Superman should get an apartment together.

[bethany12]

It is all about taxing, spending, and welfare in this state.