While this is certainly a good thing;
Cities that want to support business and job growth can look to Sioux Falls as a model, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Sioux Falls is one of seven cities featured in a new report on “enterprising cities,†which shows how municipalities can provide the infrastructure and policies businesses need to grow.
This is great news if you are moving a business to Sioux Falls or if you are looking to expand business in Sioux Falls. No doubt, as a business owner you have many benefits of doing business in Sioux Falls. SBA loans have very low interest rates, there is NO corporate income tax, wages are low and productivity is high. So YES, as a business owner, this is wonderful news;
In calling attention to the report Thursday, Mayor Mike Huether reiterated his strategy to run the city like a business.
“This is an environment where businesses thrive, and we’ve been going at it for years,†he said.
Well Yahoo! But what does this good news mean for employees and citizens? While it seems Sioux Falls ‘Get’s it’ when it comes to business and economic growth where are we lacking?
– Food. Many people in our community depend on SNAP and food banks to just feed their families and with cuts to SNAP this will only get worse. One has to question wages in Sioux Falls when a working man can’t even afford to feed his family on the wages he makes.
– Median income in SD has gone up. While this is great news, it only happened because the rest of the nation is doing so crappy and losing, not making gains on median income. This tells me that while the SF economy is strong, our median income only went up because everyone else’s went down. This shows me that Sioux Falls residents have been some of the most underpaid in the nation for a very long time.
– Living wages & underemployment. While our unemployment rate sits at 3%, it still doesn’t tell the bigger picture of underemployment and many SF residents holding several jobs to make it. If the city really wants to support business growth in Sioux Falls, they must also require these businesses to pay living wages and solid healthcare benefits. Obamacare’s biggest failure was not providing single-payer healthcare, which would have alleviated many businesses with the exploding healthcare costs. But business should provide healthcare to their employees, a healthy workforce saves businesses money and a living wage makes happy employees, which makes happy customers.
– Affordable housing. I am often amazed when I hear what some of my friends pay for renting an apartment in Sioux Falls. In some cases I could pay two mortgages on my house for what they pay in rent. The biggest problem is that apartment units are controlled by just a few companies, they have almost a monopoly on rental property. When rent is 75% of the wages you are making, how can you expect someone to live off the remaining 25%? The city needs to get more involved with getting developers to build affordable apartments, especially with all the grants and TIF’s they receive already. providing TIF’s to build luxury hotels and condos just doesn’t cut it.
– Public Transit. Let’s admit it, public transit in SF is a joke, and it is too expensive. The city really needs to take the bull by the horns on this, and a public/private partnership may be the solution.
– Record development and Annexation. It seems the city has learned nothing from the last time they were full steam ahead on development, the bottom fricking dropped out, not just here but across the country. The other problem with increased annexation is keeping up with infrastructure. Have we learned nothing from the exploding sewer mains, flooding and pot hole ridden city of just a few years ago? The more infrastructure we build new, the more we have to maintain, it comes to a point where it is unsustainable or unaffordable or both. The city needs to concentrate on developing and redeveloping within city limits. Just drive around this town sometime and look at all the empty lots and property’s for lease. Do we really need to continue to expand? Or do we need to just put a new coat of paint on Sioux Falls?
While I applaud the business sector for making themselves lots of cashola, it’s time the work force in this city shares in the glory, and it all starts at city hall.
Relevant. We’re only a few months away from Fawick Park getting renamed Sanford HealthPark, presented by Taco Bell. A good business doesn’t leave its resources underutilized!
I could say a lot about all of this, especially the bus service. I was visiting with a lifelong friend, we went through grade school and high school together. She and her husband just moved to Sioux Falls from the farm they had lived on for 51 years. We were talking about Paratransit and she made the comment that if the city could spend millions on the event center, you would have thought it would be more important to provide Paratransit services for people that need it.
The main reason for the increases in SD’s median wage have to do with record farm profits. NOT really7 any affect of the urban economy – OR the national economy at all.
@rufus – Really? I thought the employment statistics from the BLS were usually quoted for non-farm workers.
I am confused, KELO reported last night that Sioux Falls was one of seven cities in the nation that was doing things right. Then the next day, KELO held and promoted a major and much needed food drive right-out in front of its studios…..?…… Will the real Sioux Falls please stand-up!
Winston,
One is the tale spun by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the other is the reality of the exploding number of adults and children needing the services of the Banquet, etc……..
anonymous,
I don’t deny that putting food on the table for ones family is a challenge for many in Sioux Falls and that the other tale is spun by the Chamber, but how can any serious media outlet allow this duplicity of reporting to continue without some serious editorial commentary about the two Sioux Falls(es) or the “Tale of Two Cities.”
On an other note, your mention of the Chamber rekindles a past political memory and question. Was it not the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, who bragged during his campaign that he had a 100% voting record from the Chamber?… I though it was the job of the Democrats to look out for the little people rather than be an agent for the establishment.
This topic could fill a book. You made some really good points! I think you should run with this by substantiating these points. We have to ask ourselves, for whom or what do cities like FSD stand–the people, or special interests? If it’s special interests, then it’s not a sustainable model. Something will give.
The point on transit though, is non-starter IMO. SAM is already a public/private partnership (perhaps not to the degree you have in mind though). The main problem is too many think public transit should run like a business rather than serve the public. It’s a service with all odds stacked against–namely, the car and gas lobby, the policies of sprawl, and a lack of investment and innovatation. Some cities are starting to figure this out though, e.g. Denver, Portland, Salt Lake City…
According to the argus headline, you’d think SF residents are awash in cash just itching to blow it all at the new event center. Buried in the story, they do admit median SD income is slightly down, but relatively speaking keeping pace. Big deal. All that means is our neighbors are learning how to skimp on wages too.
A little retrospect. We have exploding numbers using the Banquet. One in eight Minnehaha residents are on food stamps. Todays median household income is a whole $3.22 an hour in 1966 dollars. I was in high school that year and my father made more money than that an hour by himself. No education, and raised a family with a wife and seven kids. Now it takes two incomes to do the same thing. Before I was drafted at the age of 18 I had a $2.25 an hour job. Does not seem like much but in today’s dollars that 2.25 is $15.76. How many unskilled 18 year olds can make that kind of money today? Back in 1972 when I got out of the service, my wife and I entered the Sioux Falls job force. No marketable skills at the time, and made a combined $6.50 an hour. In today’s world that is $36.37 an hour. No skills in today’s business world might bring in a household income of $20.00 an hour…if they’re lucky. I’ve said it on here before a thousand times and I’ll prolly say it a thousand more times…the middle class is fast becoming the working poor.
Think the Argus will ever tell us the tale of two cites? Not on your life.
BP – I was thinking more in terms of train service, still ran by a public entity.
Winston, I was thinking the same thing, the irony is actually darkly hilarious.
“Think the Argus will ever tell us the tale of two cites? Not on your life.”
But hey, they give advice on how to keep your dumpy trailer up to spec.
If things are so negative in Sioux Falls and all of you are complaining, one has to wonder why on earth would you continue to live in Sioux Falls
@drahkota – Exactly my thoughts as I read down to your comment.
Many people not working don’t want to work. That is now the “culture” in our nation. The “I’m not working for $10/hr” can sit at home on their ass and get by it appears.
As for the good ole days people, we are now a service society, not a manufacturing society. That pays less. The days of the best job in town was at Morrell’s is long gone. We all want less expensive goods and services. Along with that comes less expensive labor.
A hamburger cost $0.25 in 1973 and I can buy one today for $1.00 off the value menu. My first job in 1973 was $2.25/hr so in today’s hamburger $$$ that is $9.00/hr.
First off, I doubt there are “MANY” freeloaders turning down $10 an hour jobs. Maybe you have something to back that assertion up with?
Lets talk about that $10 an hour job the working poor should be happy to have. Assuming a 40 hour a week job, which is hard to come by, that Joe or Jane is netting about $1450 a month. Knowing the price for shelter, food, and other neccessities, how is that Joe going to make it? Keep in mind also there are 34,500 jobs in SF that pay less than $11.12 an hour.
Meanwhile recent hall of fame inductees like miles beacom make millions of dollars a year.
That is economic disparity! The new reality? The needs of the very few being met by the sacrifices of the vast majority.
Eventually, the takers (beacom) are going to run out of the givers (Joe)money. Where will this country be then?
…why on earth would you continue to live in Sioux Falls
This is not just a SF problem. It is a national one. When we have cheerleaders like huether urging the good folks to come to SF and those good folks come here and find nothing but $9.00 an hour 28 hour weeks what are they going to do? At that point in time they don’t even have money for a bus ticket. A bus ticket to where?
Thank you Poly43.
From,
Someone who is working more than one $11 an hour job just to survive.
Someone who has never accepted public assistance of any type.
Who am I?
I am a Sioux Falls citizen taxpayer who is part of our community’s WORKING poor.
Anon…
Always remember you are not alone in your fight to stay afloat. There are thousands in SF facing the same struggle. You’ve done nothing wrong. If you do someday decide you may need assistance do not be too proud to take advantage of it. If the noems of the world can do it with farm subsidies, so can you to feed your family.
Never lose sight of these few words framing our country.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect UNION, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Maybe some of here see that SF does have it’s advantages and we just want to make it better for everyone, not just the Beacom’s and Huether’s of the world. If I hated SF of didn’t give a shit, I certainly wouldn’t spend everyday on this blog. I want things to be better in SF, and I think I have made some good points about how we can improve this city for EVERYBODY, not just for people who own develop companies, like to play tennis or dog owners, EVERYONE.
Like beck and the argus, you bring us transparency out of darkness.
DRAHKOTA, your right, there are a lot of things which are great about Sioux Falls, but there are also a lot things which are great about America and even this planet as a whole. But that does not mean we do not have challenges and when the establishment, like our local news media, tells us two stories within a reasonable short period of time and they do not see or ignore the obvious contradictions between these two stories, or are unwilling to make editorial comment about the dubious reality, which we live in, then it becomes incumbent for us as citizens to point it out.
If reporting is truly about being “fair and balanced” then that includes reporting the facts in the context of the entire picture and not within confines of an edited and controlled storyline. KELO as an example, and I am sure the other local networks are just as guilty as well,( it just so happens that I tend to watch KELO more),
need to stop talking about how bad the hunger situation is in Sioux Falls and how great development in this town is without putting the two realities together and asking, why?
The local media needs to be the fourth estate in this town, rather than a spokesman for those who can afford to own estates and feed the hungry as if they were truly helping them, while their economic development plans do very little to reduce the true burden of the economic downtrodden; a group which is growing as our economic development and growth are apparently growing as well.
The tell the real story local media!…. Tell the story!
“your right,(?)… you are right,”
Tom – yes I’m serious. Read what is being said here. the median INCOME (not wage, not salary) in SD has risen significantly in SD.
Again – to be clear.
Median INCOME.
drahkota
Siouix Falls is better run than every other city or town in the state – and the habitual whiners on this site KNOW THIS. But – habits – and habitual ways of “seeing” things are hard to overcome.
“The story of the pike” (a real scientific experiment)
A pike was kept in an aquarium that was divided into two parts by a clear glass wall……..
http://www.wolverton-mountain.com/articles/pike.htm
10 x 40 x 52 = $20,800 yr = $1,733/mo and yes, you can even own a house and live on that in Sioux Falls. I do right now.
To rufusx point, once you have given up you become a lost soul. The power of a positive attitude should not be underestimated.
Three of my friends that are what people would term wealthy did not come from wealth. One was raised in Boys Town, one was from a broken home, and one was from a large family where everybody worked growing up because they had to. Why would we begrudge these people their wealth earned by their hard work and abilities.
OldSlewFoot- no one here is begrudging the the well-off. It’s about the slide of the middle class. And can we please stop deamonizing the poor as lazy, as you seem to imply in your initial post? All the poor people I know work their tails off.
http://m.comedycentral.com/tds_video.rbml?id=robert-reich&weburl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.thedailyshow.com%2fwatch%2fmon-september-16-2013%2frobert-reich%2f&alt=http%3a%2f%2fm.comedycentral.com%2ftds_video_index.rbml&cid=300
$1,733/mo and yes, you can even own a house and live on that in Sioux Falls.
That 1733 turns into 1470 real fast unless you don’t pay income taxes. How much for health care do we deduct? How bout utilities? How bout food? How bout transportation costs? Unless the house payment is under 700 I’d say good luck.
…. once you have given up you become a lost soul. The power of a positive attitude should not be underestimated.
Tell that to the noem family which eats from the subsidy trough to the tune of millions.
Gotta love this AL story about a landscaping project outside of Brandon. Shows the divide between rich and poor in SD, and the ridiculousness of the wealthy.
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20130922/ATHOME/309220015/Video-photos-Backyard-vision-inspires-creativity
So how did the Barton’s get so wealthy to afford to build a ‘grotto’ Hard work? Inheritance? Nope, selling snake oil;
http://www.google.com/#q=Joe+Barton+brandon+sd
Great reading DL. Now onto something that was not. Hunted high and low in today’s argus for my favorite comedy skit. Found it eventually in the sports page?!?! Someone, please, tell me what is Lalley’s role again?
Link please
BTW, LJL, would love it if you email me about the SF PO that got off on the reckless driving incident, I deleted your comment, because I wanted more info on it. Do you have any links you can send me?
fb.art@sio.midco.net
I sent you the link the the AL story. Nothing on Kelo of course
notice, not a wreck less but CARELESS. UNBELIEVABLE.
Here’s the story LJL is talking about from the AL:
”
The off-duty Sioux Falls police officer cited for careless driving in July’s three-vehicle crash near Arlington that killed a 17-year-old Badger girl will not face additional charges.
Cynthia Holmquest, 25, pleaded no contest to careless driving in Kingsbury County on Sept. 3.
On July 22, a 2013 Mazda3 driven by Holmquest struck a 2002 Oldsmobile Alero from behind on U.S. Highway 14 as it was slowing to turn left into a rural driveway. After the initial crash, the Alero struck an oncoming school bus. Savannah Koistinen, the driver of the Alero, died at the scene and two of her teenage passengers were taken to hospitals with serious injuries. All three teenagers and Holmquest were wearing a seatbelt. Two high school-aged girls on the bus suffered minor injuries.
Kingsbury County State’s Attorney Gregg Gass said Holmquest was reaching for a pair of sunglasses when she struck the Alero around 4:55 p.m.
“The police reports I reviewed, along with case law, I came to the conclusion of no further charges forthcoming,†Gass said Friday. “There is no evidence of illegal drug use, or alcohol. It’s simply a matter of inadvertent careless driving.â€
Sioux Falls police spokesman Sam Clemens said the department doesn’t comment on personnel matters when asked if any action was taken against Holmquest, who has been with the department since August 2012.
In July, Clemens said Holmquest’s status as a police officer remained active and the department wouldn’t take any action until the investigation was completed.
Gass didn’t have a medical condition update on passengers, Kelsey Keller, 15, of Bryant, and Levi Tapani, 16, of Sheridan, Wyo.
The school bus carrying 20 high school girls from the Willow Lake area who were returning from a volleyball camp in Elkton. A 52-year-old bus driver and a coach also were on the bus.
Koistinen attended Hamlin High School in rural Hayti and would have been a junior this school year. ”
So let me get this straight, doesn’t the SFPD train their patrol officers to be able to mult-task while driving? So how is it that a trained patrol officer can’t even pick up a pair of sunglasses without ramming into the back of a car? No surprises that they are keeping her on the force (hopefully behind a desk and not on that street) their advisory attorney with the city gets a DUI and keeps his role as their advisor. Hypocrisy of the highest order, I guess.