Sallie May to bring six hundred jobs back to Wilkes-Barre. (Philadelphia: insurance, house)

[mathjak107]

awe high hat , flattery will get you everywhere ha ha ha


my great maturity and deep emotional insight make me some alot older ha ha

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by TheHighHat

Math, you hide your age well. I thought you were only 49. You can not make it on a salary that pays $8 to $12 an hour here. It is not as cheap as one thinks.

No. It's most certainly not. Housing prices in my own community have DOUBLED over the past 15 years while incomes most certainly haven't increased by anywhere near that margin. I pay over $90/month in insurance on a 1999 Ford. We pay $125/month for Comcast for cable and Internet access. We pay nearly $4,000 annually in property taxes. Explain to me just how NEPA is so much of a "bargain" again that employers can justify paying us $10/hr. at places like Sallie Mae while politicians pat themselves on the back calling them "good jobs?" We're not as much of a bargain-basement as we used to be even as recently as the mid-1990s. Now we're up to about the national average with most living expenditures while wages lag FAR BEHIND. How is that a good thing, Mr. Kanjorski, Mr. Casey, Mr. Burke, Mr. Doherty, etc.?

[Gerania]

Your housing is cheaper, your car insurance, taxes are cheaper. Double, treble, perhaps more, the cost of those things where I live. Students, those out of work and others who now need a second income are begging for jobs which pay $12 an hour. If those jobs weren't going to NEPA, they'd be going somewhere else. Something is better than nothing.

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

No. It's most certainly not. Housing prices in my own community have DOUBLED over the past 15 years while incomes most certainly haven't increased by anywhere near that margin. I pay over $90/month in insurance on a 1999 Ford. We pay $125/month for Comcast for cable and Internet access. We pay nearly $4,000 annually in property taxes. Explain to me just how NEPA is so much of a "bargain" again that employers can justify paying us $10/hr. at places like Sallie Mae while politicians pat themselves on the back calling them "good jobs?" We're not as much of a bargain-basement as we used to be even as recently as the mid-1990s. Now we're up to about the national average with most living expenditures while wages lag FAR BEHIND. How is that a good thing, Mr. Kanjorski, Mr. Casey, Mr. Burke, Mr. Doherty, etc.?

[formerdrunkenSP]

This is part of 2,000 jobs Sallie Mae must bring back from Off Shore so they can get the proper funding from the Federal Government.

Just remember the Feds are holding a gun to Sallie Mae's head in order for them to get additional "bail out" monies. Then Sallie mae will hold a gun to the Fed's head indicating if they don't get the assistance they require these jobs will go away.

Anyone know what the carrot is from the Feds to keep these jobs here and for how long?

[Jackie2008]

Originally Posted by DE_NePA

you are worth the same, relative to the cost of living where you are vs NY or NJ. Can't have your cake (less expensive housing and property taxes) and eat it too (high wages needed to support the higher housing cost and property taxes)

Sure, maybe my property taxes aren't as high as someone living in NY, NJ or the Philly area. But, in regards to what I made (I was laid off in January) from past job, by the time I paid everything I had to pay (mortgage from necessary home improvements), insurance, utilities, phone, basic cell phone, gas, food, necessities, heating oil, etc,etc. (and, no cable or satellite), I had to sometimes charge on a credit card for gas and food. I had absolutely nothing left for retirement. I don't go on wild shopping sprees, I clip coupons, etc. Being frugal as possible. Kudos to The High Hat and ScranBarre (again, congrats on your decision to move while you can!). Some here can make a decent living and I'm happy for you. But, for a lot of us, we live paycheck to paycheck. Speaking of ScranBarre, he's moving for a better opportunity than he can get here. I hope to do the same. I don't want to scrape by the rest of my life. I have relatives who are hoping the natural gas boom will give them security for their later years (that might be in jeopardy now with new regulations popping up.) Again, taxes and "cost of living" can be lower here, but, if you are making a less than living wage salary, it isn't easy.

[SteelCityRising]

WNEP just reported that the pay will be $9/hr. That's pitiful. I was earning over $11/hr. at Lowe's! $9/hr. is "GREAT NEWS?!" Wow! This area's standards just keep on getting progressively lower and lower!

[Chefkey]

The pay for most jobs suck everywhere and the cost is the same or more here. I see an increase in some groceries and fuel here and the pay for Culinary jobs are the same. Nothing has changed for my financial outlook except being able to afford a home. That is the last thing in this area that is below the rest of most of the country and that will change soon too when the economy upturns I bet.

I was actually surprised when I saw the prices in stores here and saw they were the same if not more. Real Estate is the only bargain here and the wages are at the same level as many places.

[mathjak107]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

WNEP just reported that the pay will be $9/hr. That's pitiful. I was earning over $11/hr. at Lowe's! $9/hr. is "GREAT NEWS?!" Wow! This area's standards just keep on getting progressively lower and lower!

unemployment pays more than that in nyc... somethings wrong when you earn more not working...

the flip side is that marilyn and i cant help but wonder how business owners even survive... i mean we walk the streets of hawley on summer weekends and there isnt alot of people buying things... same story in honesdale....winters are totaly dead around us.

my best guess is most of the small business owners do these little business more as a hobby or something to do then counting on them to support familes ..they already must have enough dough to live without these busineses... in fact most have the craziest hours and dont even open certain days or times of the year..

[DE_NePA]

No. It's most certainly not. Housing prices in my own community have DOUBLED over the past 15 years while incomes most certainly haven't increased by anywhere near that margin.
This is true in the Philadelphia area, and many parts of the whole country.

I pay over $90/month in insurance on a 1999 Ford.
That's because you are a young male, it's a demographic thing.

We pay $125/month for Comcast for cable and Internet access.
Same here in the Phila. area, and if you are paying it, don't cry poor, its a luxury.
We pay nearly $4,000 annually in property taxes.
I've seen pics/description of your neighborhood, and your taxes are lower than in a comparable neighorhood in the Phila. suburbs.


Explain to me just how NEPA is so much of a "bargain" again that employers can justify paying us $10/hr.
Employers will only pay what the market will bear, NO ONE pays more for ANYTHING than they absolutely have to. Doing that is called donating, not paying.

at places like Sallie Mae while politicians pat themselves on the back calling them "good jobs?"
I don't defend politicians, but didn't you say the mayor of Scranton only makes $40k? That's a job with huge responsibilities for low pay (leave the person out of it, I'm talking about the job).
We're not as much of a bargain-basement as we used to be even as recently as the mid-1990s. Now we're up to about the national average with most living expenditures while wages lag FAR BEHIND. How is that a good thing, Mr. Kanjorski, Mr. Casey, Mr. Burke, Mr. Doherty, etc.?
Politicians cannot set wages for employers. The reason the call centers setup in NEPA is they can be cost competitive there comparing to off-shoring. The reasons distribution centers set up there is they can be cost competitive compared to being closer to major urban areas they distribute to.

[Mr Yuk]

Originally Posted by W-B proud

Sallie May is bringing six hundred jobs back to NEPA. Is this good news? What will they pay? I guess it has to be better then six hundred more people getting laid off.

Better than nothing I suppose, but these jobs aren't really paying any better than the retail jobs we already have. Nobody is supporting a family on $9/hour. I can't imagine anyone being able to support a family on that wage without also being on public assistance.

Sallie Mae probabaly moved the jobs from overseas to NEPA because they can now pay NEPA workers less money than workers earn in India and other third world countries.