Are wages suppressed in the Ozarks?

[MOKAN]

Originally Posted by mvgeb

Yes, at least the city government did give the citizens of Springfield the chance to vote away the rights of others. Which I think proves my point further, its not just the city government that's not conservative, its also the majority of the residents in Springfield (well, at least the majority of those who get out and vote).

On point B, according to KY3, the city's new 'Advanced Traffic Management System is a cooperative effort between Missouri Department of Transportation and the City of Springfield that cost .. that cost nearly $4 Million'. They say that a lot of useful information will be posted on them from time to time. All I know is I drive by 2 intersections twice a weekday that have these signs and have never seen anything 'useful' on them.

I don't live in Springfield, so I don't have any say in what they do as a city. I'm just trying to make the point that they may not be as conservative as some think.

The only real issue (since I'm not a Springfield citizen) I have with any of this is the smoking ban that basically takes more property rights away. I'm not a smoker and I avoid businesses that have a lot of people smoking in them, but I believe the business owner has the right to allow people to smoke on their property, whether the rest of the city thinks so or not.

Weird. I was thinking that Republican (or conservative) culture is why Springfield residents would actually get to vote on something like this instead of it just being imposed.

[mvgeb]

Maybe the Republican culture allowed the citizens to vote, but a conservative culture would have voted the issue down imo. The citizens of Springfield may get another chance to vote on the issue since a petition to overturn the ban was just turned in.

[Bluff_Dweller]

Being a smoker and seeing the vote on KY3, I took their hint that they didn't need me or my money so I haven't shopped Spg. since.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by mvgeb

The only real issue (since I'm not a Springfield citizen) I have with any of this is the smoking ban that basically takes more property rights away. I'm not a smoker and I avoid businesses that have a lot of people smoking in them, but I believe the business owner has the right to allow people to smoke on their property, whether the rest of the city thinks so or not.

I agree with you mvgeb. The big "push" for the smoking ban was based on a smoke-free workplace for employees. However, nobody FORCES you to work in anywhere. My philosophy is...If you don't want to work where people are smoking, then find a job someplace else".

In our Springfield business, we don't even HAVE employees and we could not smoke if we wanted to. We pay rent, sales and income taxes, over $600 a month in utilities and we can't even do what we want to in our own place of business because some whiney-azzed liberal decided they are "offended" by cigarette smoke, or something stupid like that.

20yrsinBranson

[Bluff_Dweller]

I appreciate you both standing up for my liberty. I try to be responsible with my smoking. I never smoke indoors, not even in my own house or around other people who might come in contact with the smoke.

I suppose it is just that I don't like some people telling me or my neighbors what I can and can't do. Otherwise, I do follow rules.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by mvgeb

Yes, at least the city government did give the citizens of Springfield the chance to vote away the rights of others. Which I think proves my point further, its not just the city government that's not conservative, its also the majority of the residents in Springfield (well, at least the majority of those who get out and vote).

On point B, according to KY3, the city's new 'Advanced Traffic Management System is a cooperative effort between Missouri Department of Transportation and the City of Springfield that cost .. that cost nearly $4 Million'. They say that a lot of useful information will be posted on them from time to time. All I know is I drive by 2 intersections twice a weekday that have these signs and have never seen anything 'useful' on them.

I don't live in Springfield, so I don't have any say in what they do as a city. I'm just trying to make the point that they may not be as conservative as some think.

The only real issue (since I'm not a Springfield citizen) I have with any of this is the smoking ban that basically takes more property rights away. I'm not a smoker and I avoid businesses that have a lot of people smoking in them, but I believe the business owner has the right to allow people to smoke on their property, whether the rest of the city thinks so or not.

I hadn't thought about it that way, but that actually does make sense.

And seriously, it's pretty clear it wasn't just "whiny assed liberals" who voted for this, so I don't see the need for the visceral name-calling 20yearsinBranson.

[TUPAC_in_the_KNOW]

I would have to say that in some respects wages have been supressed there. The primary conduit of growth for the Ozarks has been retirement folks settling there to take advantage of the low cost of living which in part has much to do with the fact that businesses are paying employees peanuts in comparison to other places. If wages went up then so would the cost of living and then retirees might think of taking their investment dollars elswhere.
Aside from that I will most definitely say that Springfield is a terrible place for a person starting out in a career or any young professional looking to make their mark. The wages are rock bottom and the ladder of success (usually hitting the ceiling at about $35,000 per year) is a buddy system in most places. You'll acrue enough credit card debt just trying to make up for the money you don't make that if you ever did hit it big you'd spend the rest of your life trying to pay it off. If you are dead set on living in the Ozarks the best thing to do is get your experience somewhere else, save up and then move here and take a lowball job, live off your savings and be none the wiser. I grew up there and if I hadn't got out I'd be making between $35,000 - $40,000 a year like most of my friends after 15 years of work instead of the $91,000 I am now. The Ozarks are a nice place to go to visit friends and family but I would never want to live there again mostly because of the hit I'd take in the standard of living area.

[brad4143]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Dallas, Denver, and St. Louis have a moderate COL compared to the national average, but higher than Springfield. All of those three metros are major cities while Springfield isn't. So, the COL comparison is apples to oranges. I think the lowest COL of the three is St. Louis, and I'm positive that salaries for software engineers would be MUCH improved over Springfield. I would go for it.

He could always move more rural out of springfield a get even cheaper housing/tax costs. There is no comparison to how much cheaper it is here in Mo. I live in rural areas near truman and commute to the base for work. I would not make any quick decisions on moving, he might find yourself worse off.

[Vols44]

The COL drives the train for the low and middle class. The rich make sure you know who they are because they would be middle class in KC or STL. When house hunting in 2000 a place in STL would have been 20-25k more than Springtown. FTR, I live in a neighboring community because the nickle and dime taxes in the city limits add up in a hurry.

To address the thread title, I see wages around here as 15% lower than big cities. Small businesses, anit-labor, immigrant employed, limited hours and less skilled trades make up the core of the area business sector. The exception is the medical segment since it's well supported, full of benefits, plentiful in opportunities and in demand.

The abundance of churches and charities draw unemployed, homeless and the empty-handed. Mix in a good portion of retirees and a fixed income and the city maintains it's image of three steps forward and two backward.

Many employers think 8 bucks and hour is plenty. The general assembly wants to lower the minimum wage back(wards) from 7.25. Employees are told hours are the new age bonuses.