Essays From West of 98: Strengthening the Market
We have been talking in recent weeks about how to create good jobs in our rural communities. As evidenced by the length of this series, it is a complex topic with a lot of dimensions to it. There are no magic bullets here. If those did exist, then rural communities everywhere would have magically created hundreds of jobs and rural prosperity would be running amok.
Last week, we talked about the importance of valuing entry-level jobs as a path to growth and creating a larger, better labor force. Improving your labor force is critical to attracting more jobs to a community, because it is a futile effort to attract jobs that cannot be filled.
After writing that essay, I saw a discouraging report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. According to new research, an employee making minimum wage cannot currently afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment or home anywhere in America. There are plenty of crazy dynamics at play within the American housing market right now, including right here in Stamford. For the first time in my adult life, the housing market in Stamford is extremely hot. Houses are selling for full listing price with multiple interested parties. If a listing comes on the market, you better move fast. The rental market is even more difficult. This is not isolated to Stamford by any means. I could (and need to) write a whole series of essays about rural housing, but let’s stay focused on jobs for now.
It remains to be seen whether these real estate dynamics are a short-term phenomenon or if they are here to stay. Regardless, it was already exceedingly difficult to make ends meet for the lowest end of the wage scale and housing costs are making it impossible. I am certainly not stumping for government intervention into wages, because I have enough agricultural economics training to know that market distortions cause all sorts of unintended consequences. What I AM stumping for is our rural employers to take the lead and find the best ways to support their employees.
I have done this in my own business and we are having these conversations at the City of Stamford right now as we plan our budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. The City of Stamford has excellent benefits. Our pension program is fully funded and our health insurance is very good. However, non-cash benefits are only part of the sales pitch to a young employee with a family. Non-cash benefits don’t pay a mortgage, childcare, or a car payment. I applaud all employers who provide good benefits, particularly as health insurance costs have spiraled out of sight. However, it all starts with wages. If you do not pay a good wage, you will struggle to retain employees, no matter how good the benefits. This includes starting wages, opportunities to receive raises, and bonuses.
I am not going to tell you I have all the answers. I am merely one rural mayor and business owner. I have made good decisions about employees, wages, and benefits. I have also made bad decisions. I would like to take some of those bad decisions back, but since that is not possible, I have done my best to learn from them.
As we work to improve rural economies, we have got to strengthen our existing employers and our labor force. There is a lot of data that suggests wages in America are not keeping up with inflation or the overall accumulation of wealth. That is distressing and harmful to the middle class and working class. I cannot do much about America at large, but I can be a voice in our rural economies. As an employer and a leader myself, I want to do a better job of providing better wages to our rural workers and I encourage other employers to examine when and where they might be able to do the same. By doing that, we make our jobs more desirable and we make our communities stronger as a whole.
James Decker is the Mayor of Stamford, Texas and the creator of the West of 98 website and podcast. Contact James and subscribe to these essays at westof98.substack.com and subscribe to West of 98 wherever podcasts are found.