What we have known for awhile, the gap between rich and poor in SD getting wider;
6. South Dakota
> Middle class income growth 2011-2015: 5.0% (23rd lowest)
> Fifth quintile income growth: 9.8% (13th highest)
> Fifth quintile share of income: 48.2% (8th lowest)
> Middle class household income: $53,266 (23rd lowest)
South Dakota has one of the healthiest economies in the country. Only 2.8% of the state’s labor force is out of a job, the second lowest state unemployment rate in the country. In addition to a healthy job market, incomes are more evenly distributed in South Dakota than in most other states.
This may not remain the case for much longer, however. In the last five years, incomes among the middle 20% of earners have increased by only 5.0%, slightly slower than the 5.3% income growth among comparable households nationwide. Meanwhile, incomes among the wealthiest 20% of households in the state have gone up by 9.8%, higher than the comparable 8.4% average national income growth in the top quintile.
These stats are probably worse than shown, when you consider that the farm economy continues to collapse and these comparable numbers end in 2015.
And to think, with the “fifth quintile” income growth being almost double that of the “middle class” in South Dakota from 2011 thru 2015, what does our “House of Lords Legislature” do? Well, to increase pay to teachers, they decided to increase a regressive sales tax instead of taxing the rich…..
No doubt this state is plutocracy. Sioux Falls is the example. The average person must have side income if not 2 jobs. The wealthy get boxes at Denty while average Joe can’t afford general admission. There’s an exclusive bathhouse for the rich with restricted hours for the middle class to enter and see how the ruling class lives. If you’re upper income, your kids walk to school on the Southeast side. If you’re credit card cubicle or fast food, you must find a way to get your kids into a school that’s not imprisonment many miles away.