News Tribune

JCLifer 3 months ago

Kentheco, flat accross the board raises tend to compress the pay scales and cause other problems. However, this is just a small symptom and a diversion from the real problem.
The REAL PROBLEM is that wages on all levels are severly depressed in this area, and have not kept up with inflation. Family buying power has severely eroded over the past 10 years, and due to ever-increasing prices of essentials like food, gasoline, utilities, healthcare, etc., familes do not have nearly as much money available to spend on non-essentials, if they have any at all. Since they cannot buy new appliances, furniture, clothing, cars, or go out to eat, etc., the revenues from sales taxes has really declined.
Yes, we need to do emergency bailouts for the very low wages, and frequently employers give across-thhe-board $400 increases to try to help out the lower levels more. However, the middle and upper wage earners are also very important for purchasing goods and services that help dirve the local economy and provide jobs. A better fix would be to work to raise ALL WAGES in the area. With higher wages, we can attract and retain a higher caliper of employee at all levels. Higher wages at all levels will increase the ability for discretionary spending and help bring more jobs. Higher wages for all will help increase tax revenues for better infrastructure and services from local governments. Higher wages for all will help improve the cultural opportunities and raise the standard of living for all persons in the area.

You cannot make chicken salad from chicken poop.
A rising tide lifts all ships.

The very low wages in this region are really holding down the growth potential, and as buying power erodes, the standard of living and quality of life for all contiues to decline.

The mulitiple tax increases being talked about are all going to fail. People are tapped out. Families are really struggling. People just simply cannot pay any more.

The majority of people in Jefferson City are very poor. Poverty rates continue to climb.
The focus of local governments and the Chamber of Commerce needs to be on raising wages for all workers. Until we can make significant increases in how much people can make, things around here will continue to rot and decay. Taxes will not be approved. Revenues for governments will decline. Infrastructure and services will continue to rot. No body benefits from a bottom of the barrel economy.

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kentheco 3 months ago

For years, the State of Missouri gave “dollar amount” based raises. It was only later, that those of top began to notice that they were not keeping ahead of their employees (the ones that do the actual work) and so began the percentage based raise. This resulting percentage based raises disproportionately benefit the people who already make the most and do little to help those with the greatest need. You mentioned that families do not have nearly as much money available to spend on “non-essentials”; I am more concerned about those at the bottom of the pay scale that cannot afford the “essentials” (food, utilities, insurance, and transportation). I am sorry that those at the top will not be able to take that trip or buy the big screen television, but until those that need it most are provided for, those better off will have to suffer along with the rest of us.

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JCLifer 3 months ago

Salaries should not be thought of as welfare. They are really payment for services performed. The "need" of the person getting the salary is pretty much irrelevent to policies to keep wages competitive with the marketplace. In a perfect world, the employee would have control over the level of compensation they received. They could gain experience or additional education to rise to a higher level, or if they were lazy or satisfied with where they were, they could just stay at their low level and keep their low pay.

What matters is paying enough to attract good enough folks to work at every level. If they don't pay enough, folks will go somewhere else in theroy, but when the largest employer has a virtual monopoly on jobs in the area, the amount they pay pretty much sets the pay levels for everyone else in the region. It is hard for employees to move around and better themselves in a monopolistic environment.

What is interesting is that several agencies are able to continually "promote" their employees to new classifications or at least raise them a couple of steps on the salary chart each year. These agencies have figured out how to give their workers the 5% or more raises every year to attract and retain the best and the brightest. Other agencies have very flat organizational charts and do not promote their employees or use the steps in the pay scale. These employees are subject to the annual whims of the legislature and governor for a meager cost of living raise. It is too bad that state government cannot get its act together and develop and stick to a compensation policy that works for all agencies. Why are some agencies allowed to give frequent promotions to nearly all their employees, and other agencies don't seem to have that ability? Why are agencies allowed to cut their workforce and load the remaining employees with two or more jobs worth of work, without giving them even a bit of a raise or promotion?

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