A rant in F(U) minor.
The local rag did a piece today on Gov. Daugaard's obliviousness to reality. It's a relatively short piece but does a good job of pointing out just how myopic Republicans are to the realities of the working poor. They did however fail to provide direct links to a couple of sources which I'll include here.
The first link is to the Governor's report. The report itself is mostly a "rah, rah", self congratulatory piece that fails to see that the Governor's own (and Rounds' for that matter) have in some ways, caused some of the very problems they are now seeking to address.
For example:
Educators are key to developing workforce skills and competencies:
Education is critical to providing the workforce South Dakota needs, and
must be focused on the skills and competencies needed to grow and sustain South Dakota’s economy.
So if educators are the key, then why are they constantly vilified? Why are SD educators paid far less than those from surrounding states? Higher teacher pay leads to better retention of the best and brightest educators. Instead of the merry-go-round of having to hire "fresh from college/university" educators who flee the state as soon as they discover they can earn more, especially now that they have a year or two under their belt.
If education is "critical" why have both Daugaard and Rounds consistently cut state funding for education?
Communities lack available and affordable housing options to attract and retain workers.
Rapid City (where I live):
median per mo income: $1,620 (from 2000 census)
median rental rate: $760 (2012 estimated)
mean price of a detached house: $199,552 (2011)
mean price of a townhose or other attached unit: $179,687 (2011)
The solution in the report is "to make more loans available to lower income families, so they can better afford to buy their own home". Umm, didn't we try that once? And didn't that lead to the housing bubble? Which was one component to the economic crash that almost crashed the world's economy? Great idea! Let's just do that again!
/snark
Employers struggle to retain workers due to competition for available skill.
Competition that is mainly coming from outside the state. Our young people have been fleeing the state for generations. They get a degree from one of our fine colleges and universities then leave for (much) greener pastures. Who in their right mind would stay here after graduating to be a wage slave? Who in their right mind would stay here when the K-12 education system is sub-standard compared to neighboring states? Want to retain workers? I dunno, maybe try offering a living wage, good health benefits, and a generous retirement (instead of the gambling alternative of 401K)? Oh and lets not even bring to the table the "big economic development" plans, which usually consist of more Tourism! Sure that would mean more jobs, but those are low wage and seasonal! So where are the jobs for all those college/university degrees we keep generating year after year? SDSM&T is a fine school for those interested in various engineering degrees, not much call for an engineering degree in a state that is both agriculture and tourism dominated. herp-a-derp!
One final note: as mentioned in the article, one of the reasons for not raising the minimum wage here is "it's cheap to live here". SD's ranking among "Best states to work" is 26. Worst, by far among neighboring states. Ranking compiled by money-rates.com. You can find your state's ranking there as well, if you're curious.