Sometimes I just shake my head when government, whether that is National, State or Local, fiddle around with emotional topics that have nothing to do with what is on hand.
Our Mayor and City council have barked about workforce development for years now, so what major steps have they made? We got a fancy website and some billboards of our mayor in Minneapolis, oh, and we are considering an ordinance to not to discriminate against transgender peeps.
Hey, as short, fat German, I can tell you all about discrimination. It happens. I will also say I voted for and support city policy when it comes to public employees not being discriminated against when it comes to sex identification. When dealing with public employees and tax money, it can be a very sticky situation. The voters, city attorney’s office and the charter revision commission made the right decision.
As for the part that was withdrawn this week, not sure we need to step off that ledge (forcing the policy onto private employers and landlords). First off, we are a right to work state, I see some interference with those laws. I also see issues with housing*.
Whatever happened to not hiring someone because they aren’t qualified? Is that discrimination? I just see a huge can of worms we are opening by adding another layer of EOC regs with private employers. The worst part is that it may not hold up in court since this is just simply a city ordinance and not state law or federal law. And at the end of the day, are we really making employment better in Sioux Falls?
No matter how you feel about the debate, I ponder the bigger question? What are our local leaders doing to actually get good employment for our residents no matter their race, gender or sexual orientation? I could care less about religious freedom, bathroom freedom and sexual freedom.
This is a job or career, not a reality TV show.
What are our city leaders doing about female pay lagging male pay? Or management promotions? How about the minimum wage? Want to present real change through city charter and ordinance? Make employers pay a $10 minimum wage within the city limit. Require all new businesses that come to Sioux Falls to sign a promise that they will pay a living wage of at least $16 an hour for full-time work. Require employers to have a portion of their staff to be full time.
I could care less where you pee, who you sleep with, or what you choose to wear for clothing. Free country, free expression. We can have the church/bathroom/transgender debate discussion all we want, but let’s face it Sioux Falls, the real discrimination in our town is WAGE discrimination.
I ask our city council and mayor, what do you plan to do about it?
*The rumor going around is that the city was promised more HUD/Federal monies if they implemented a city ordinance to not to discriminate against LGBT peeps/transgender.
I appreciate your venting. There’s protest in Chicago today for McDonalds fast food minimum at $15/hour. Even if here, it’s barely a living. If the impoverished majority expects local authority to look out for they, not happening. They’re selfish for themselves and bear false witness.
To feed yourself you need a gimmick. Working for or bartering for side untaxed income is one avenue. Another is selling drugs or robbing casinos. There aren’t enough jails to keep you long term. There’s a reason this country has the most incarcerated. Sad, but what this culture has become.
The top one percent bleeds us out. We’ve become what we must be. Historically, the present tense signals the end of favorable democracy of/by/for the people.
Like the b ill board at the airport thousands of jobs put in low paying and you got that right,
Some of the crappiest wages in the nation, and the city’s #1 priority is protecting males who dress like females? Hey, I’m a peace loving hippie like the rest of them, and feel NO ONE should be discriminated against, but let’s get our priorities in line people when it comes to employment in this town.
Let’s face it, if you live in an almost gated neighborhood and hide at your private enclave on a slough, you might have a different set of priorities. Pettigrew and Whittier neighbors understand the differences L3wis brings up.
Somehow grand pronouncements, gestures, fancy buildings trump the need to control taxes and drive-able roads. Our city administration constantly brings up diversionary messages to change the subjects. The 9th & Dakota marketing department is struggling to keep ahead in the news cycle.
Apparently the rumor about more HUD money is true:
http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2016/05/27/city-attorney-retool-anti-discrimination-changes/85034648/
It didn’t take Erpenbach long to come to her master’s defense. Huether will do anything for an extra buck.
Forget helping the poor, the handicapped, or the low wage earners, there’s no money to be made in that.
The new Wal-Mart should spur more commercial development in the area of 85th and Minnesota. The shortage of available workers should raise their wages as competition grows for wage labor. Builders are having a tough time finding qualified employees at any price. Unemployment is very, very low in Sioux Falls. We have been blessed in many ways.
It doesn’t matter that there’s jobs if you can’t afford food and shelter. Employers must pay more but then you move into a higher federal tax bracket and the city raises sales tax. You’re where you were but the bullshit worked for awhile.
Sioux falls is also an expensive city to live in. It’s the second most expensive city I’ve ever lived in (Austin TX was more expensive but had far much more to offer) and there are expenses you have out here that many other areas of the country don’t have. One example is having to import stuff in from outside the state because the local stores don’t carry much, another is extra repair expenses due to the crappy roads here tearing up your cars. Jobs here won’t pay much because it’s mostly a fluff local economy and/or the employers here churn and burn people so much.