Oh joy, more hog barns by our biggest tourist attraction!
The Virginia-based company has received a building permit for a $12.5 million expansion to the Sioux Falls plant for a holding barn addition. That follows a $2 million holding barn addition permit filed in May.
And that is what brings the tourists in!
When turning the corner to enter the cafe we walked into a thick, and pungent wall of odor emanating from the business across the street. I grew up in southwestern MN and have had my fair share of brushes with pig farming and even helped feed pigs at one time, but this was on a whole other level.
Never in my life have I been hit so hard with pig manure odor that I almost gagged! We quickly entered the cafe, but upon losing any sense of hunger we each held our breath and made a dash out of the cafe! (Some advice, do not hold your breath after breathing in an awful smell as it only increases the difficulty of getting that odor out of your throat and nose.) Falls park is an extremely wonderful experience for the senses, it would just be nice if one of the senses could be taken down a notch!
And that’s what keeps the visitors coming back, as my stepfather would say “Smells like money.”
I have often argued if we are ever going to re-develop our Downtown we need to eliminate the train traffic, JM’s and the Prison.
Smithfield has grown and added many jobs. Let’s face it, in this town you’re either imprisoned in a call center cubicle or you slaughter meat. The smell, oh well.
lolz is this one of the new report-to-work stations?
Smithfield and the Falls are proof that the “Tale of Two Cities” is a part of our visual heritage as much as it is a part of our current economic reality.
Smithfield, however, symbolizes a past middle class and a current history of a dwindling middle class, while the Falls is still true to itself even to this day.
While the Falls symbolizes stability, beauty, and inevitability, which unfortunately are values that fewer and fewer Sioux Fallsians can enjoy today in a town of two tales…
You would think the “Tale of Two Cities” is quickly becoming hard to ignore when you recently hear The Banquet served almost 1,000 meals that day.
Anyone who has ever volunteered at The Banquet knows that many of the guests are the ‘Working Poor”.
Nothing against the Banquet or the Food Bank in and of themselves, but many corporations in town donate to them, while they don’t pay their employees enough to begin with…. It’s a vicious circle where image sadly trumps substance. It’s time for political leadership in this town or city to take the Bully’s Pulpit on this issue….
#EndWageCollusion
JKC, what would be your recommendation on how non-profits can pay their employees more?
Also, look at how much the corporations that donate to non-profits pay their employees.
Rachel, I was referring to corporations and not non-profits in terms of pay. Although, all should offer a living wage.
But how would I work to increase wages for all in this town? Well, first we need an ordinance requiring all job offers, which are publicly posted, to list their pay scale. I also think that our political leadership in this town need to get on board and start using the “Bully’s Pulpit” to challenge the business community to raise wages around here. And all of us, need to prevent politicians from spinning questions about wages this town into a discussion about bringing higher paying jobs to town, because how does that idea realistically help those who already work in this town at low wages? Sure, a new higher paying employer could in theory challenge current employers for the present employee pool, but you would have to have a whole lot of new businesses in town overnight to honestly make that happen with any true impact.
Last fall, the Harrisburg school district began paying their education assistants who were new employees in the district $14.10 hr.
This spring when the Sioux Falls EAs’ new contract was negotiated the beginning pay for a new EA was raised from $11.87 to $13.21.
I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Thank you for your answer JKC.
Is that “conclusions,” or collusion?
Market dictates pay period. Government will not solve this issue and they have never have been able to. Great example, Seattle enacted a $15 minimum wage and everyone who got that was not happy until they realized that the new wage put them over the Federal Threshold for government assistance. These geniuses then decided to cut back their working hours to 20-30 hours a week to get their govt assistance back. These are the McDonald’s workers of the world they in their brains they think low skill jobs are suppose to pay a living wage and they are not, you can’t support a family off that and you NEVER were suppose to. Now McDonalds has promised Kiosks in all restaurants by 2020 and then they will have no job. Business should treat their employees with respect and dignity but, they are there to make money not break even and be charitable organizations. Government is never the solution. If you look, places like ALDI pay $17.75 for full time employment and that is a low skill job. I have seen signs at Taco Bell and Taco Johns hiring for $13 and $15 an hour respectively and that is the current market because OUR city likes to eat and the demand is there, they would not pay it it was not. This is simple supply side econimics
Your McDonald’s example is because of technology. That is a totally different issue. Economists and futurists have been predicting this for decades.
If increased wages mean less assistance, then either the wages need to be higher and/or the current assistance thresholds are too low.
And if you think that “government is never the solution.” Then what do you tell farmers, recipients of FEMA aid, or retirees on Social Security and Medicare?
As far as your empirical wage examples, well, is ALDI hiring full timers?…. And what about all of the workers who are not in fast food – but low skill – are they making 13 to 15 dollars per hour in this town?
And let me add, McDonald’s wages don’t even support a person alone, yet alone a family, what are you thinking?
But when a business hires adults, then they have a duty to pay a living wage to those adults. It is their duty under the social contract…… For workers are suppose to, or are expected to bring, a work ethic to work with them and employers are suppose to practice an ethic that assures a living wage for their employees without a dependence upon government assistance. Else, that business is on welfare, just like their employees, except they have no “thresholds” to worry about…..
“Duty to pay a living wage”. That is a load of crap!! No one owes anyone anything. If you don’t like the pay find another job! That’s the problem people think others owe someone something. The market dictatees the pay,s simple supply and demand. I don’t know why this concept is lost on some. The problem most have is we forget we have equal opportunity in this country BUT we are not entitled to equal outcomes. My earlier post about McDonald’s was an example of low skill job that anyone can do so as an employee you are NOT special and easily replaceable. This is true of many low skill jobs and that will never change no matter what. Our high skill blue collar jobs have all been shipped to Mexico (Thank you NAFTA) so until that shit starts to come back ya better get an education and a better skill or your SOL. America sold out back in the 90s cause we wanted cheap shit from 3rd world peasants and here we sit bitching about someone owing us a living wage on jobs that high school kids or retirees should be doing like they were 20 to 30 years ago. Sad thing is we are blessed in this state and there are many opportunities out there if you want them. I have a 21 year old who landed a no experience On the job training apprenticeship @ $17 an hour doing HVAC and can become a journeyman in a year. Now that’s decent for someone with no college degree and no experience. That’s double the minimum wage and this is why I cannot tolerate the poor me attitude. It’s out there gi fucking get it your not owed shit
cali has kiosks just about everywhere now. but they were for 15.00 wage an houir . boy the voters bought that hook line and sinker. Washington state does same things plus if they have employees they cut the weekly wage. The voters there too screwed . but kept voting for those demos cause they care about people. again hoodwinked .
Interesting,
I take it that you don’t believe in a social contract, huh? Perhaps, we should close all of the ERs, huh? Because you never know when someone might show up without insurance, huh? And my son, he registered for the draft when he was 18 to potentially save your know what, but maybe he shouldn’t have, huh, because what did he owe you? Maybe we should all say to hell with auto insurance, too. And your attitude explains why too many gun owners don’t lock their car doors, too, unfortunately….
But, I am glad you got a good paying job, good for you. But all jobs should have a decent pay, because without that guarantee the middle class will further rot and so will our democracy with it….. For to be against decent wages is to welcome a decay of our republic.
“It takes a village.” I know your type are bothered by that quote, but it does. Else, we wouldn’t have ERs, public schools, the draft, and many other interdependencies in our society that work and work for a reason.
But you are right about NAFTA. I was against NAFTA in ’93 and twenty-five years later I am still against NAFTA, but I was also not dumb enough to vote for the Donald of Orange either, how about you?…..
You know a little over a year ago, this blog site showed a video of our former mayor talking to constituents about “dream jobs” and how people shouldn’t just wait for “dream jobs.” Well, he was half right. On a micro level individuals should make things work as best as possible regardless of the job, but on a macro level political leaders should not have an indifference to jobs and wages, rather they should be working to increase wages and not just working to bring more low paying jobs to a town.
And remember, if you deny that a social contract exists, then you are denying civility, and what idiot would be opposed to civility?
#ItsAllAboutWages
#BusinessesDoHaveADutyNotJustWorkers
I think you misread my post. I do believe as a community we need to look out for each other but I do not fell anyone is owed something but you earn it. I strongly believe government is rarely the solution. Let’s take Social security, that was a social contract but we let the government have control and it’s broken. Your military argument has one flaw we have an all volunteer military that I was proud to say I was a part of but I made that choice to do my part. I am simplying saying government is not the answer cause we could talk all day long about it’s long and distinguished list if epic faliures. My job as a citizen is to take care of myself and not be a burden on society and IF and WHEN I chose to I help others who need it. I start that process with extented family and friends then doing things like volunteering at the banquet or supporting my local schools via fund raisers or volunteering. I come from the school of teach a man to fish not giving him a fish. We as a society need to rethink this owe me mentally. This min wage thing is truly a myth. If we raised it up more everything else just goes up in price because one of the biggest expenses is an FTE. What most people who are not in business do not understand is what it truly costs to hire someone. You have taxes on their income you pay unemployment, insurance (not medical) etc. There are so many things that go into that and some of the money you pay is dependent on how much the employee makes. So saying some of these low skill jobs owe a living wage it’s probably not even feasible to do in some cases but the employee has a choice. I truly believe that most employeers want to do the right thing and pay well.
“I truly believe that most employeers want to do the right thing and pay well.”
Interesting, I would like to think that that last comment by you is true, but I don’t think it is. I think we increasingly live in a predatory and narcissus world, which breeds business leaders, for the most part, who only care about themselves. One does not only have to look at wages to discover this. I believe that the business community has stretched planned opalescence to the point that more and more products and services are being produced and or performed with no care for quality, performance, assurance, or customer service concerns. And I do believe, that whenever one starts a business they should be concerned about three things: surviving in an ethical manner, offering a quality product and/or service, and caring about their employees. Because whenever one begins a business they are using their talents to effect capabilities within our economy and its resources; and just as a farmer cannot continually farm some land successfully without caring for the land, nor can a business person continue to be a positive influence upon society if it does not care about the resources it uses, and one of those resources it does or will use are human resources….
Oh, and Social Security is not broken. From time to time it might have to be tweaked, but it is not broken. Because when you buy a new car, they usually put an owner’s manual in the glove compartment. This manual informs you on future maintenance issues. But just because the manual is there does not mean the new car is a lemon, rather it is just common sense that a good product needs to be tweaked from time to time to keep it going for many, many miles… Oh, in case you were wondering, even the finest cars have owner’s manuals, too.
Oh, and minimum wage is not a myth. Else, trust me, we would all be working for less without it. And as you make more money you have more discretionary income which empowers you and positively impacts the economy. That’s why supply side economics never works, but Keynesian economics does. Because the former keeps the wealth concentrated with the wealthy, which causes an economy to dry up over time, while the latter spreads the wealth and creates a positive multiplier effect upon the economy, that then creates more jobs, which then creates wage inflation in order to attract employees for the “more jobs.”
#SpreadTheWealthAndCreateMoreHigherPayingJobs