Express
www.mtexpress.com
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
11
ECONOMIC ALMANAC
As a small business owner,
ä GAPS who don’t—it’s huge. You’ve got billionaires, and you’ve got people washing dishes. There’s a huge disparity. “But, what’s the relationship? Is it relevant to your daily life?” Depends where you look and whom you ask. Blaine County’s economy is largely built on money earned outside of it. And, many of jobs you’ll find locally are geared towards serving that wealth. About half of all employees work in the leisure and hospitality or food service and accommodation sectors, according to 2018 figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On balance, those positions pay better than Idaho’s minimum wage, but not all that much—around $23,000 per year, between $10 and $11 per hour. (For more on wages, see Page 14.) Companies follow the money—and the margins, too. “The people who are in business for profit put a lot of effort into catering towards wealth,” Patrie said. “It’s more profitable, and it’s safer—what are you going to do?” So: Is a builder going to put up five middle-income homes chasing a 15 percent return, or one well-appointed mansion the same size for 30 percent? A restaurant needs to sell a lot of $2 Rainier beer to catch the profit on a $100 cabernet. “Our economy provides more opportunities for the super-wealthy, at the expense of services to everyone else,” Patrie said. “We don’t have the capacity for everything. You’re going to get a lot of fancy restaurants trying for high-end bottles. Whereas, I haven’t seen a new Lefty’s open up in a while.” Meanwhile, everyday prices drift towards what the top end can pay. Recently, strong markets helped raise that ceiling, and the cost of living followed close behind. In fiscal 2019, the median rent on “Our economy a two-bedroom unit was no longer affordable on a median household’s provides more income, according to advertisements opportunities for the in the Idaho Mountain Express aggregated by the Blaine County super-wealthy, at the Housing Authority. The April advertised price for one of those units hit expense of services to $1,700—which, by federal guideeveryone else.” lines, you’d need about $68,000 a David Patrie year to afford. Just a year earlier, Outreach Director, it cost $1,422—affordable on just Sun Valley Economic Development under $57,000. When the Housing Authority started compiling rents in 2013—around the time Blaine County was fully emerging from the recessionary cloud—a similar place would have cost $925, adjusting for inflation. That’s about a 45 percent difference between then and now—nearly 10 times the growth rate of per capita wages during that time. Food prices, always high, continue to rise, too. Blaine County is the eighth most expensive place in the nation to buy a meal, according to hunger-relief group Feeding America. A weekly market basket of groceries—basically, a standardized version of a household shopping list—cost $225.62 for a family of four at last count in 2017, 1.5 times more than the national average. That adds up to $11,700 per year, nearly 30 percent of a worker’s median wage. The federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program—food stamps—paid a maximum of $1.86 per meal at that time, $2.72 short of what it costs in Blaine County. Even those who would qualify for the program needed to cover 60 percent of food costs themselves. No surprise then that one in five residents goes to The Hunger Coalition for help, according to spokeswoman Kristin McMahon. And, based on data from the United Way, the organization estimates that 38 percent of the local population is one crisis away from needing help to put a meal on the table. Under those pressures, people can usually handle one extra hit, Dohse finds. The car needs a new transmission. The kid needs braces, or something more serious. Some can take two—a medical issue, time off of work.
Do you have Peace of Mind? With 100+ years of combined experience, let our Commercial & Business insurance experts take care of you.
Call us today so you can have peace of mind.
208.788.1100
Energy IRU D EULJKW IXWXUH The abundance and low cost of natural gas means U.S. households will save $3,500 per year in energy costs by 2025.
See GAPS, Page 16 ä
MEDIAN EARNING IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS
Know what’s below … call before you dig Building a deck? Planting a tree? Installing a mailbox? Please call 811 before you begin any digging project. People digging often make risky assumptions about whether or not they should get their utility lines marked due to concerns about project delays, costs and previous calls about other projects.
Source: American Community Survey
BLAINE COUNTY PER CAPITA INCOME COMPARISON
These assumptions can be life-threatening. Every digging job requires a call – even small projects like planting trees or shrubs. If you hit an underground utility line while digging, you can harm yourself or those around you, disrupt service to an entire neighborhood and potentially be responsible for nes and repair Get energy saving tips and rebate information at www.intgas.com/saveenergy. costs. Smart digging means calling 811 before each job. Whether you are a homeowner or a professional excavator, one call to 811 gets your underground utility lines marked for free. Don’t assume you know what’s below. Protect yourself and those around you – call 811 www.intgas.com every time. Find out more.
&OHDQ 5HOLDEOH (ɝFLHQW 'RPHVWLF
www.intgas.com
Source: American Community Survey