Downtown Workers (Minneapolis, Bloomington: neighborhoods, income, property tax)

[Beenhere4ever]

When I suggested that the police department stop worrying about the cheapskate owners downtown who lobbied to push city costs back on the neighborhoods, a poster slyly suggested that the INCOME of those who paid property taxes came from the businesses downtown. To me that seemed pretty naive. I have to see if there's anything in that poster's profile that could explain that. But I'm sure that person has no (ZERO) demographic information to back that up.

Some things to think about:

---EVERY major highway into Minneapolis fills up with suburbanites heading downtown to work. If downtown was really full of long-suffering Minneapolis property owners, why should there be traffic jams in every direction.

---From my own personal experience of 40 years living, all in Minneapolis, only 14 were spent working downtown. 26 were spent working in St Paul and suburbs. So it certainly isn't true that Minneapolis property owners must all work downtown, even excluding the thousands employed in neighborhood businessess all over the city.

---My last job downtown was in an IT department. I was the ONLY Minneapolis resident working there. One guy commuted daily from Roberts WI to work downtown Mpls. His property tax (what there was of it) went to Roberts and its county. He wasn't too good about making it on time, but when you have to fight that traffic jam on I94 that starts around downtown St Paul every work day, its pretty hard to make your job on time.

And when you get right down to it, downtown simply never has had enough jobs to employ a majority of us who own property here. Not in the last 40 years. Most of us have always had to go elsewhere, even out of our city, to get jobs. As the time went by and most new jobs appeared in the suburbs, that tendency was exaggerated. So, no, our money doesn't come from downtown business. In fact, they've pretty much MOVED their jobs to the suburbs or out of state. But they do retain white collar jobs down there. People who can pay the prices on everything down there (thus explaining Saks and Neiman Marcus). But you know where most of them live. Because of their pay scale.

Anyway, I'm so happy to see the missing demographics if they are somewhere to be dug up.

[QuietBlue]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

---My last job downtown was in an IT department. I was the ONLY Minneapolis resident working there. One guy commuted daily from Roberts WI to work downtown Mpls. His property tax (what there was of it) went to Roberts and its county. He wasn't too good about making it on time, but when you have to fight that traffic jam on I94 that starts around downtown St Paul every work day, its pretty hard to make your job on time.

Interesting. At my last job downtown, almost everyone lived in Minneapolis, albeit mostly as renters. Over the ten years or so I worked downtown, I'd say the percentage of Minneapolis residents varied from job to job and company to company, though.

[Minneapolitan]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

When I suggested that the police department stop worrying about the cheapskate owners downtown who lobbied to push city costs back on the neighborhoods, a poster slyly suggested that the INCOME of those who paid property taxes came from the businesses downtown.

To which thread are you referring?

[HiFi]

And where is the company in the suburb's bread buttered? Their clients down town.
Down town is the economic heart of the area, no matter how you spin it. And black is black and white is white.

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by HiFi

And where is the company in the suburb's bread buttered? Their clients down town.
Down town is the economic heart of the area, no matter how you spin it. And black is black and white is white.

Well, that's probably overstating it. Medical device companies are a big part of local economy and almost none of them have a significant presence in the downtowns. Same with really any manufacturing in the twin cities.

The downtowns easily have the highest density of economic activity, but there is a heck of a lot going on out in the collective suburbs.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by 1stpontiac

Well, that's probably overstating it. Medical device companies are a big part of local economy and almost none of them have a significant presence in the downtowns. Same with really any manufacturing in the twin cities.

The downtowns easily have the highest density of economic activity, but there is a heck of a lot going on out in the collective suburbs.

Downtown Minneapolis only has about 10% of all of the jobs in the Twin Cities metro.

[dravogadro]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Downtown Minneapolis only has about 10% of all of the jobs in the Twin Cities metro.

Isn't it more like 20%? Do they actually split out downtown versus the rest of Minneapolis?

[uptown_urbanist]

Downtown Minneapolis has about 160,000 jobs. It's the economic hub of the Twin Cities. Not sure what the original argument was, but downtown has a regional role, and it is in the interest of everyone, Minneapolis and non-Minneapolis residents alike, that it be stay strong and be considered a safe and desirable place to work or visit (or live).

[golfgal]

Downtown Minneapolis has many new signs of vitality | StarTribune.com

Actually Minneapolis has less than 130,000 jobs and while some posters think it's the "hub" it really isn't, especially as a percent of population. Contrast that to Bloomington with 90,000 jobs and not quite 100,000 people, Bloomington is more of a hub than Minneapolis. The Met Council shows about 1,600,000 jobs so Minneapolis has less than 10% of the jobs.

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Downtown Minneapolis has many new signs of vitality | StarTribune.com

Actually Minneapolis has less than 130,000 jobs and while some posters think it's the "hub" it really isn't, especially as a percent of population. Contrast that to Bloomington with 90,000 jobs and not quite 100,000 people, Bloomington is more of a hub than Minneapolis. The Met Council shows about 1,600,000 jobs so Minneapolis has less than 10% of the jobs.

The article you link to states 138,000 works downtown, not just in Minneapolis:

Downtown is recouping some of the nearly 15,000 employees lost to the 2008-09 recession. Downtown boasts 138,000 workers, down from a peak of 150,000 in 2007.