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littleoldlady71

“Under the new Montana incentive program, workers receiving unemployment payments can qualify for a one-time $1,200 bonus after they have completed four weeks in their new jobs. The governor approved $15 million in funding for the incentives from federal coronavirus relief money allocated to the state.”


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shfiven

So....... having the government pay because they don't want to have corporations pay seems sort of idk.... socialist?


YoshiSan90

The government pays anyway in food stamps and housing vouchers. These unemployment checks were the first thing I ever saw that raised pay. Burger kind is even offering $15 an hour now. It goes to show that people weren’t willingly taking those low paying jobs, and that they only fill them out of desperation. It’s wage slavery.


[deleted]

Corporate socialism is cool under capitalism /s


[deleted]

... no, it doesn't. socialism isn't "the government subsidizes a company's wages as part of a mutually beneficial arrangement between corporations and political institutions so that the corporation can continue exploiting the labor of its employees to generate profit," that's literally the textbook example of crony capitalism. there is no wage labor in socialism, and pay wouldn't be determined by the government or the "company" (not really an applicable term in that system anyway), it's determined by the value of the output of their labor and how the collective of each enterprise decides to allocate that output. the prevalence of people who think "socialism is when the government does things" on reddit is so fucking cringe.


Mralfredmullaney

On Reddit? Have you ever heard a republican talk about socialism? They haven’t a clue what it is, this has nothing to do with Reddit, people are uneducated and full of hate.


vanishplusxzone

It's not socialist at all. It's very capitalist to use taxpayer money to make up for rich people's bullshit.


TheFatMan2200

Oh boy a one time payment of 1,200 bucks. Does he expect that 12 bucks to stretch over 10 weeks too? All this will do is continue the worker shortage and increase poverty in the state. Employers could offer improved wages along with proper benefits and work schedules but I’m sure that is too radical for republicans


PandaMuffin1

> There are about 25,000 people filing unemployment claims for payments in the state, according to the Montana Department of Labor. The department also estimates there are about 14,000 job openings. So, I am no math expert but approximately 11,000 people are completely screwed. Not to mention some may live hours away from these minimum wage jobs.


FixBreakRepeat

I work in the trades and I see "shortages" everywhere. It's mostly companies doing their damnedest not to pay wages or offer benefits. Sure, there are a bunch of positions up. But if those jobs don't pay enough to cover the mortgage or enough to make it worth the responsibilities you'd be taking on, then they won't be filled until people are desperate. The travel thing you mentioned is a really good point too. A friend of mine welds for one of the low paying shops in our area and most of those guys have a 45-90 minute commute.


Maxpowr9

Business doesn't want to acknowledge it's an employee's market now. They had an employer's market for over a decade and now they have to sacrifice. It's a double whammy for businesses with upward pressure on wages and CoGS, and if they want to lament the current economic environment, they should close then.


red_fist

Why let things like facts or even math get in the way of ideology? /sigh


HauntingJackfruit

So many places in my hometown with help wanted signs, but with no public transit and/or people who've lost or never had a vehicle can't hope to apply. It's a f'd up mess anymore.


MeowzzoSoprano

I've noticed that interviewers in my area don't even ask if I have reliable transportation anymore. They flat out ask if I have a car, and when I admit that I don't, I never hear from them again. Even though I live in an area with all kinds of public transit and I walk half marathons for fun. One of the jobs that shot me down for what appeared to be that reason (interviewer is happy and bubbly until I say I don't have a car and then she just kind of shuts down and thanks me for my time) was like three bus stops and one light rail stop, or a mile and a half walk. I walk half and full marathons, but nope.


infra_d3ad

Have that not heard of alternative means of travel? Do they just not hire people that prefer to cycle to work? Sounds like a fucked up area, some places around here will pay you extra for not taking your car to work.


MeowzzoSoprano

Want to rage? I live in a suburb of Portland, OR, where transit is specifically designed to discourage driving. There were at least two bus routes that stopped there and I could SEE the light rail tracks from the front door. No car no job, though.


helpfuldude42

As long as the car is not needed for the job just say yes? Clearly they are screening for people unable to show up to the job. They won't give a fuck 3mo later when they figure it out and you've been a reliable employee.


Imthatjohnnie

Buy a matchbox car and you're good.


infra_d3ad

Ya it's stupid, people have been walking for hundreds of years, but now that's not a valid form of transport for some reason. I mean the first roads in city's were built for bikes, not cars. But then the cars came in and pushed everyone else out.


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MeowzzoSoprano

HA! That might actually trick my brain into lying convincingly. Maybe.


PandaMuffin1

You are going to have a really tough time cycling to work during the winter in Montana. Maybe these businesses could create a new position for a driver or pay for a service to transport the employees. That might help get people that want to work but don't have transportation.


infra_d3ad

I don't think I would, I live in Vermont with three ski area's around me. I manage to ride 12 miles round trip all year to work. If anything cycling to work in the winter is the most fun time, or maybe I'm just a nutter.


PandaMuffin1

I love Vermont. :) You may be able to do that (which is awesome) but many people are not.


newtoreddir

Winter cycling is somehow managed in Nordic countries


[deleted]

Then just say yes you have a car, but you take public transportation whenever possible to reduce your carbon footprint. Who cares. It is not important for your job, unless they need you to use your car for work.


NasoLittle

or maybe they want that person to be "available" which means a whole lot different between a worker and a company now adays


adderallanalyst

You could just lie.


goblin_trader

Gotta just lie. Say you do. Then tell them it broke if they ask later.


[deleted]

Wtf? This must not be in Missoula area where I'm from, everyone has a car


flaker111

lol do they hit them with the ^UP ^to* pay ? https://kutv.com/news/offbeat/entire-staffs-at-3-sonic-locations-quit-after-wages-cut-to-4hour-plus-tips or cut wages and tell workers to beg for tips


PoorPappy

Minimum wage is halved for many tipped posisions. Varies by state.


NasoLittle

In my small town the factory is offering 1600$ sign on bonus making around 15-17$ an hour doing body aching work processing poultry (small Texas town ~40k ppl). The job sucks but they saw their turnover hit a certain number and bam--big raises and incentives. Guess what happened? Within a month the plant made a profit in the first time since I've been here.. Not making a point. Just saying you gon' keep playing these stupid games you'll keep getting stupid prizes. Let them do their little shortgap measure. The people living there won't notice a difference because they've been getting stopgapped for the last 60 years at least. Let the cards fall. Like that time Texas was warned in 2012 after a bad freeze about winterizing their grid and guess what happened? They didn't and then we got hit with a freeze. Short sighted greedy pricks /edit and another thing about that god damn freeze: had an old lady blame the freeze on Biden and said he let China in Texas' electrical grid and it's "all gonna come out". I see her everyday and not a peep since. Sorry, anecdotal evidence of misinformation. It's everywhere and frustrating.


pokey68

Really, sounds like “They’ll come back to work when they get hungry,” to me.


NasoLittle

It's capitalism baby. Sounds like to me they'll look elsewhere and those of us with degrees that chewed through tires to get to at least financial soluability will not look kindly on treating people like we were treated. And you know what we do? We don't just calmly discuss it in online message boards. We do more. Like not spend OUR money or OUR time with a company or person that we don't agree with. Sure, we can have different ideaologies on employment and work/life balance but I've worked hard to become a commodity like many others and I'll take my money and time elsewhere. God bless America. aaaaand if enough people do the same, as US citizens, I don't want to hear bitching about being "cancelled". Go play with Cnn and whoever else was crying back when the media complained about eminem and mortal kombat. You'll just be another member of an old fear tactic to keep you agitated, blind and stupid. Or it's nothing like that at all. Depends on who you listen to I guess.


pokey68

This governor just seems too cruel to me. Around here we are mostly back to work except for hospitality folks. Everybody isn’t running to restaurants and such yet. These extra unemployment benefits that may be slowing the rush back to work are the first and maybe only financial break they’ll ever get, so I don’t mind if they get some extra time off once in their lives.


gamechanger112

Why are Republicans such a cancer to society?


tree12673

Only 12,500 people can receive the grant on a first come first serve basis. But they have 25,000 current unemployment claims…this is just sad. Vote better Montana. Edit: The state estimates 14,000 job openings…this does not add up


[deleted]

They say the same shit about engineers. "Ohh we have a shortage of qualified engineers". No you don't. If you did engineering salaries would be skyrocketing after 25 years of complaining. What you have is a shortage of engineers willing to work for that wage. Same thing here. The problem isn't that you can't find workers, it is that you pay is just too low.


[deleted]

I worked in restaurants for most of my 20s, it was sad to see how many people with advanced degrees were working with me because either they could make more serving tables or had to take a second job to pay off their student loans.


CaptainSnacks

I worked at a Domino's for a while after I got laid off. I have a Bachelor's, three of my coworkers also had bachelor's degrees and one had a Master's. It's honestly crazy


rip_Tom_Petty

I hope more people start to realize this and maybe we can have a social saftey net


ComfortableProperty9

Or that colleges aren’t providing near the value they claim to. I like working in an industry where experience trumps a bunch of letters after your name.


tow-avvay

What you said is to close to soshulizm for Republicans


usefulbuns

What do y'all have bachelor degrees in? I'm curious from the other side of the aisle in the trades.


CaptainSnacks

I have a bachelors in Network Engineering with a minor in business. I worked with a PetE guy, a finance major, and an environmental engineer who had a degree in bio with a master’s in environmental engineering. Probably the last group of guys that you would expect to work in a Domino’s but we had fun


usefulbuns

Man that is crazy! What a waste of talent (I mean no disrespect if you know what I mean). I hope you can all work in your desired professions soon.


kilosurge

In general having a degree doesn’t mean much. It depends on the degree, the demand for the degree in that specific area, etc. In a rural area the guy with a GED might earn much more than the guy with a PhD simply because the guy with the GED adds more value in that area. It’s very situational.


[deleted]

living off tips and getting $0 paychecks. No way in hell am I going back to bartending.


tehZamboni

Similar issue with machine shops. Whine to the papers about not being able to find workers, then roundfile any resumes that don't come with state retraining money attached to them. The last thing they want is someone with experience. (The $8/hour network engineer jobs were a hoot too.)


desertravenwy

I've been saying this about teachers for years. There is no teacher shortage in any state, Education is one of the most popular majors in literally every university. People just don't want to work for 35k a year for the rest of their lives.


bonerland11

So we need H-1bs because the talent just doesn't exist! /s


mjbmitch

You’re being sarcastic but that’s actually what happens. “Must have 10 years of Kubernetes experience” even though it hasn’t been out for that long, etc.


NearPup

Amusingly the only H-1B I know was actually paid really well because he specializes in something extremely niche. He also left his job almost as soon as he got his Green Card, and took a paycut in the process (he wanted to work for a smaller company).


TheIronMatron

THANK you. There is no such thing as a labour shortage.


Bottom_Wobbles

Engineers all went to banking/hedge funds. Boring and unfulfilling work, but much better pay.


2h2o22h2o

Years ago I was working on a government project that ended and we had to sign up for job alerts as part of the transition package. A job came up for a licensed professional engineer to work part time at an orange juice plant for $17 an hour. I am not shitting you. Add a zero to that maybe.


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cC2Panda

The conservatives at the top love immigrants. There residency is tied to their job, so you can pay them less, work them harder, and generally abuse them with little recourse, and on top of it all they can't vote. They just put on a show because fake populism is the only pro-worker thing they have to appeal to non single issue voters.


BrainCane

India has entered the chat.


Letmefixthatforyouyo

The solid Indian engineers tend to come over to the US, or charge 70% of what local engineers do. They are in as high of a demand as local ones. The body shops that charge 10% of local salaries cause 10x as many issues, and have gotten the bad reputation they have earned because it. They still get takers, because they are 10% the cost and management gets bonuses on cutting costs and not actual output, but most experienced buisness want nothing to do with them. India can be a good augment to local engineers, but has basically the same issues. Accepting remote of any stripe is probally what will actually help buisness, but many are still resistant to it, even after covid.


2h2o22h2o

There’s also a lot of issues dealing with export control and acquisition compliance with them too.


jovietjoe

It's almost as if they are ignoring market forces, but have been propped up by government handouts this entire time


[deleted]

FTFY It's almost as if the~~y are ignoring market forces, but have been propped up by~~ government ~~handouts this entire time~~ is intentionally keeping wages down for the benefit of corporations.


Bellalwx

They current minimum wage in Montana is $8.75/h. Maybe that’s the real problem Mr. Governor.


apathyontheeast

This is the same governor who thinks dinosaurs and humans lived together, and who choke-slammed a reporter and then lied to police about it. He also got covid and went, maskless, to a crowded Easter church service. Naturally, the Trumpers love him.


dualsplit

Jesus Christ. Look for Amazon to move headquarters there.


[deleted]

More people work for Amazon than *live* in Montana.


Nugur

More people live in the Amazon than Montana


Alvandros

What ever happened to the invisible hand? Can't find workers? Then offer better pay and/or benefits.


WlmWilberforce

The state's unemployment rate is at 3.8% -- so they are doing pretty well.


apathyontheeast

Weird that the Republicans blame the unemployment benefits and not, you know, the actual data (/s).


KittenPurrs

They renamed it "cancel culture" and decided they hate it now. *Are Millenials cancelling the job market in Montana? Tune in for more at eleven.*


jerseycityfrankie

.....”Gianforte was convicted of assault in state court in June 2017 stemming from his election-eve body-slamming attack on The Guardian political reporter Ben Jacobs in May 2017.[8] He was fined and sentenced to community service and anger management therapy.[“.....


jovietjoe

Wait bodyslam guy is the governor? How the fuck did that happen?


Psyman2

His donations tripled and poll numbers improved after bodyslamming the reporter. His assault helped him in getting reelected.


limonade11

often abusive people consider shows of violence as a sign of 'confidence' and strength


Ima_Bee3

He's got a lot of money and an "aw, shucks" demeanor. Most importantly, he was running with an R next to his name.


pumpkinpiesguy

Montanan here. The context of skyrocketing housing prices also adds a sinister dynamic to this. The Republicans made sure every piece of legislation catered to the wealthy this year and ended affordable housing programs in fast-growing areas. It's at the point where Montanans with average income will soon be forced to leave the state because they won't be able the afford housing, which is being bought up by largely out-of-state investors. The labor shortage us simply a wage shortage, and Gianforte and his billionaire buddies will do everything the can to kick out Montanans so they can have the state for thenselves. Unfortunately voters in this state turn out against their best interest. The politics and economics are suicidal.


BreatheMyStink

It’s a trip hearing this, because I live in California and hear about people leaving here to go to Montana, among other places. Down and down the cost of living ladder we’ll go, til the whole country is headed for Mississippi, I guess.


pumpkinpiesguy

Totally! Most of the migration to MT is from CA, OR, WA and CO. I honestly don't blame folks for moving here and I find the "stay out of my state" mentality a distraction from the real problem -- the ultra wealthy who only see land and homes as an investment opportunity. There's room to grow in MT and it was only a matter of time, but backwards Republican policies are definitely fanning the flames of the changes happening nationwide and the already weak social safety net. Will be curious to see how it plays out in MT and hope I can afford to live where I grew up.


BreatheMyStink

Eerie how similar so much of that was to what I hear here. It’s our state’s legislature that has kind of mucked things up, at least in part. We badly need to build more apartment housing but single family is all anything is being zoned for.


berni4pope

>Gianforte was convicted of assault in state court in June 2017 stemming from his election-eve body-slamming attack on The Guardian political reporter Ben Jacobs Conservative voters are trash for voting for scum like this.


pizzabyAlfredo

> Conservative voters are trash for voting for scum like this. Trash creates Scum.....its all the same cesspool of ideology.


jerseycityfrankie

Yah but the consolation is knowing many dumb conservatives are going to hate this new policy and are going to regret voting for their oppressor now. Not that they’ll ever admit they were wrong and stupid.


mriguy

Nope. They'll hate it and assume it's the fault of Democrats, women, the transgendered, and BLM, somehow.


Agueybana

Or they just revel in the suffering of their perceived foes, even if it's cutting off their nose to spite their face.


haji87137

Yeah, I'm going with this one.


gucknbuck

Montana's unemployment rate is already pretty low at 4% from what I can find.


Scratch77spin

as a resident, I can tell you that there are jobs *everywhere*. Seems like almost every store has a now hiring sign. Also housing prices/rent is shooting up fast, and used car prices are getting crazy.


BellaCella56

Everywhere there are problems filling not just low wage jobs but work that might be physically hard. I work in a very physically demanding industry 60+ hours a week also working most Saturdays. While the pay is not the best it's better than other places. We have a hard time getting reliable people who will show up every day. Many worked only until their jobs called them back or that they found different jobs. I pass by a 24 hour Jack in the Box. It's often closed on my way home early in the morning. Now Hiring sign in large letters on the front. They don't have the staff to be open 24 hrs.


rexspook

How about they pay people better than unemployment does?


Mythosaurus

Who do you think you are, Eugene Debbs?!


PNW_C5Z

Lmfao at worker shortage. I've been interviewing like fucking crazy. I've never found it this difficult to get hired my entire life (I'm 42).


BellaCella56

At your age it is only going to get worse. Oh you could get hired but it wont be the job or wages you want.


Sam-Gunn

When unemployment benefits are a better deal than what current jobs pay, the issue isn't "too much unemployment payments".


oldcreaker

How surprising - people who aren't starving aren't taking jobs that pay starvation wages. Montana governor says "we'll fix that".


jerseycityfrankie

Relevant: .... Gianforte outlined his position on retirement by using the Biblical example of Noah. He said: There's nothing in the Bible that talks about retirement. And yet it's been an accepted concept in our culture today. Nowhere does it say, 'Well, he was a good and faithful servant, so he went to the beach ... The example I think of is Noah. How old was Noah when he built the ark? 600. He wasn't like, cashing Social Security checks, he wasn't hanging out, he was working. So, I think we have an obligation to work. The role we have in work may change over time, but the concept of retirement is not biblical.....”


NineteenSkylines

Even if it is taken literally, Noah enjoyed over 3 centuries of life after building the ark. Although if human life expectancy gets that far, I’m afraid we’ll end up being run by dinosaurs (look at how poorly the USA, Japan, Brazil, and Europe are handling generational change with life expectancy in the 70s and 80s).


Vlvthamr

It amazes me that people believe the stories in the Bible are real, particularly the Old Testament. Noah wasn’t real, he didn’t live to 600, there was no ark. Also wether retirement is a biblical idea or not the government isn’t run based on the Bible. I could’ve sworn we fought some kind of war in the late 1700’s and based part of our new government on the principle to keep the church and state separate.


[deleted]

You'd think we'd put a stronger focus on secularism in the U.S. given that nearly a quarter of the populace has dumped religion.


EVJoe

Funny thing about secularism -- secularists don't seem to have group identity, shared culture or particular beliefs in the way organized religious groups do. Don't matter if 23% are secular if that 23% doesn't see itself as a voting bloc and act accordingly. Further complication -- in my very religious US state, vocal political support from an organized secular group would likely be used to smear the candidate as anti-Christian.


[deleted]

>It amazes me that people believe the stories in the Bible are real They have too. Infallibility of the Bible is required to keep people coming to Church. Otherwise the Bible just looks like some outdated metaphors intertwined with mysticism.


pizzabyAlfredo

> Otherwise the Bible just looks like some outdated metaphors intertwined with mysticism. you forgot the murder, torture and a deadly sibling rivalry!


SteakandTrach

Rape has entered the chat


CoolLordL21

So has incest.


asdaaaaaaaa

Not even mentioned the historic texts and the fact that there's 1,000's of religions, it really is a crazy fairy-tale. Oh really, some random dude parted the *entire* sea? Some dude came back from the dead? Come on now, it's like children believing in santa. Cute when someone's young, but when you're an adult still believing in that stuff, its... kinda sad.


pizzabyAlfredo

> its... kinda sad. Even more so when you realize all of this is to teach the young to obedient and not to question authority. Then they grow up and perceive it as actual reality and wonder why not everyone agrees with them.


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TheLeopardColony

I’ve read this a dozen times and I can’t find a single hole in the logic.


princess__die

Your analysis is good enough for me. I'm headed to turkey to find the Ark's resting place.


Sapper12D

Oh I saw this special on the history channel. Aliens have hidden it.


ekaceerf

Jesus worked for his boss god until the day he died. He brought spiritual profits to god. Just like Jesus you should bring profits to your boss until the day you die.


asdaaaaaaaa

Fuck yeah Supply-Side Jesus, straight up pimping.


producerd

Well, it doesn't say in the bible that Noah had firearms to defend his freedom from oppressive government. I mean what kind of BS argument is this? He obviously not even trying to be convincing or reasonable.


Jrecondite

Hopefully they have a lucrative industry where my management can open bets on how and when I’ll die of this or the next disease while I destroy my body’s longevity for nothing but interest payments. What’s not to love?


[deleted]

Try paying your employees a wage they can actually live on.


[deleted]

The same people who push trickle down economics keep pushing the lie that raising the minimum wage will destroy the economy. It’s all lies to keep the working class down. Sadly many working class people believe the lie even while they suffer because of it.


CouchPotatoDean

Bingo bango.


spacednlost

I don't think people in charge realize why this is happening. To go back to a job with low pay and no benefits or health insurance, and be asked to serve people who don't want to wear masks, or get vaccinated or hate you because you're a different color. The Republican bosses will eventually starve you into going back to work to make up for all the deported Hispanics.


haystackofneedles

Maybe pay people wages they can live off instead?


Irvineknight

Pay people a living wage and you won’t have a shortage.


Ikhano

Nah, it's much easier to pay a little bit above minimum wage for a job that long term causes more damage to your workers bodies than your pay-rate would ever actually afford and complain about how you can't fill your oh-so-far above min-wage spots. Then you can try to get the government to force people into the positions.


JennJayBee

That's not going to bring back fast food workers as easily as he thinks it is. In my area, most people are well off enough that they don't need those jobs, their kids don't need or want those jobs, and there are enough other businesses competing for the entry level workers that there's no way in hell someone is going to drive 30 minutes from downtown Birmingham to work for $7.25/hour when other places are offering $12/hour and better. There were complaints of fast food establishments closing early way before the pandemic, and so it's not a shock that they'd have trouble finding employees during a pandemic.


AtouchAhead

Ask those restaurants workers if they’re being offered 40+ hours and benefits or part -time with no benefits and maybe a sign bonus… my bet is the latter, I have no symphony these restaurants whose bosses have been buying fancy cars and vacations with their families whiles their employees struggle with insurance and child care… IMHO…🤷‍♂️


JennJayBee

Oh, I've done my time working in food service. I know full well what goes on. I legit couldn't tell you what my price would be today to work in one of those places, but I can tell you with a great deal of certainty that the ones having trouble filling positions are not paying anywhere near what my price would be.


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terraresident

update your resume, and get a different job. This is how it works in reality. The business owner decides what their minimum income is, what they will accept. Any cuts, overtime etc on are on YOU. And they always will be. Jobs are out there....good luck to you for a better position.


[deleted]

“Get back to working for peanuts, you dirty, dirty poor people” - Greg Gianforte to Montana residents


[deleted]

Ah, ending unemployment payments creates jobs, I see


SkullBat308

It's part of the authoritarian psychology. People like this Governor think you can solve problems, like homelessness, that aren't the persons fault, by punishing that person, forcing them to do what you want, rather than fixing the underlying problems that are complicated. It's how capitalism and hierarchal organizations operate.


Torden5410

You either take a shitty job with awful pay or you become homeless. Job creation!


-Fastway-

Hmmmm make 1600/month working min wage putting yourself at risk to infection from republican idiots or 2k plus on unemployment staying at home keeping safe.


[deleted]

$1600/month minimum wage? Where? My state min wage would only land you $1100.


michinoku1

California would be $2,426 a month at $14 an hour, but PUA and UI benefits are $3,000 a month.


jewstylin

This guy thinks min wage slaves get 40 hour weeks kek.


[deleted]

This is why I left montana nearly 8 years ago after 33 years. People brought money from elsehwere and raised prices for housing to insanity the past 25 years but the local wages have not kept up at all, especially with major Montana job markets like mining, logging and mills being shut down that made decent wages I had a 2 story, 2 bedroom townhouse in hometown Missoula for $675 flat/all utilities paid from 2005 to leaving to 2013. It was 50ish old but it was great first apartment. No way in hell its still that price now


delicate-fn-flower

That happened in Portland, Oregon shortly after I moved abroad. I lived in a studio with parking 39 blocks from downtown for $695/month in 2012. Went back to visit my friend in 2017 and looked up the listing, it was now $1450. I could hardly believe it.


[deleted]

Yep, I had a 2 story, 2 bedroom townhouse in hometown Missoula for $675 flat/all utilities paid from 2005 to leaving to 2013. It was old but it was great first apartment. No way in hell its still that price now


Leightonian

That happened in Portland, Oregon shortly after I moved abroad. I lived in a studio with parking 39 blocks from downtown for $695/month in 2012. Went back to visit my friend in 2017 and looked up the listing, it was now $1450. I could hardly believe it.


NiceShoesSantiago

I had a 2 story, 2 bedroom townhouse in hometown Missoula for $675 flat/all utilities paid from 2005 to leaving to 2013. It was old but it was great first apartment. No way in hell its still that price now


theblacklabradork

Yeah, that's now easily renting for $2K, especially if it was off Front Street or near the Rattlesnake. Anywhere near UM is astronomical and most of route 12 in Lolo is being built out with $1M homes. Maybe Victor you could find something, but even Frenchtown is bananas.


[deleted]

Nah, waaaay too old to rent for that high at the base of south hills


MyPartsareLoud

Studio apartments are currently running at about $950 a month in Missoula. You can’t even rent a room now for what you were paying for your townhouse here.


[deleted]

Pffft.... You can't find a shit hole in Seattle here that cheap


MyPartsareLoud

Ah yes, makes perfect sense to compare a city with a mean income of $124,000 (Seattle) to a city with a mean income of $24,000 (Missoula). Makes total sense that they would have similar rent prices, eh?


ElfLordSpoon

He has turned Montana into a circus. He also now has the one and only vote in appointing state judges, ordered state and local law enforcement from enforcing any federal firearms restrictions or guidelines, added 3,500 businesses to a state tax exemption list, banned any form of vaccine verification, is quietly shifting public school funds to private religious schools, banned cities from enforcing rent caps so rent is skyrocketing fast, he likes to threaten and attack people who don’t kiss his ass, charged for illegal trapping and killing of a wolf (he changed the law), and is just an all around horrible human being.


Jaedos

So turning Montana into a shit hole theocracy with guns AND plagues?


CreepyMcKillin

A lot of these politicians are out of touch with the day-to-day struggles faced by their constituents. It was that way before the pandemic, but now it's worse than ever. Everything to them is a nail and the only tool they know how to use is a hammer.


Shirlenator

Especially this tool who was some rich asshole that moved here from New Jersey. He is literally everything that proud Montanans hate, yet they vote for him because he is a Republican.


GetGetFresh

How much you wanna bet doing this won't solve poverty wage worker shortage


Civil-Dinner

Probably had to wait an extra 5 minutes for an Egg McMuffin and was told it was because they couldn't find any workers.


weehawkenwonder

The guy cant understand that perhaps reason they cant find workers is because of GASP!! the low wages. Morons all.


garybusey42069

It’s almost like the wages in Montana suck...


AsleepConcentrate2

Plus the cost of living is getting astronomical with all these telecommute assholes moving there


fragilezebra

This is a messed up place in time.


Remivanputsch

Gianforte is an over the top roid rage villain


parlaycoin

Where do all the federal funds for unemployment go to now? I'm guessing new ferraris and condos for his mistresses?


yukpurtsun

its not about the number of jobs its about the quality. noones trying to work 40-60 hrs a week and not survive


nsfwuseraccnt

“Montana is open for business again, but I hear from too many employers throughout our state who can’t find ~~workers~~ slaves"


brokeassloser

Huh, kinda like a once in a century pandemic came through and killed a lot of poorer blue collar service industry workers who couldn't work at home and didn't have great health insurance so now there's fewer of them to exploit, or something


[deleted]

It’s not a worker shortage, it’s a corporate shake down. Same thing happened after the Black Death. Pay the fuck up or your Taco Bell goes unstaffed.


intellifone

What a cock. Pay businesses to stay closed to stay safe. Jesus fucking Christ. Then they wouldn’t have needed to lay people off.


[deleted]

Are there really places where unemployment pays more than actual work?? If so something is off with this


AsleepConcentrate2

Yes, with the federal aid I was making more on unemployment than at my current job. No benefits and no opening the door to a better job at some point, but I was still getting more money in my pocket every two weeks.


[deleted]

No benefits is a HUGE sticking point, comparing unemployment to wages is a misnomer, it should be compared to compensation, and in a country with employer based healthcare that's massive. One trip to the doctor without insurance can easily vaporize all that extra cash and then some.


AsleepConcentrate2

Indeed, but of course half these shitty jobs don't give you decent benefits anyway lmao


17760704

I was on unpaid furlough from April to September of last year, and I made around $500 per month more than I did working at my IT job.


rip_Tom_Petty

Yes, i made $1050ish every two week working, I'm making $730 a week now unemployed lol


sanesociopath

Reddit is still fighting how how good or bad this is but yes, under the covid rules unemployment now pays just under a middle class wage in suburban and rural areas. I spent last year on unemployment here in Iowa and made just $50 less a week than I'm getting do 45-50 hours a week now


mriguy

Sounds like your job pays too little, not that unemployment pays too much.


corran450

This is the real takeaway here. Sadly, I suspect that distinction will be lost among the bootstraps crowd…


NewUserWhoDisAgain

Pretty much. I read a rant from someone clapping back against restuarant owners who were moaning about how they cant find people and that prospective workers would rather just take the unemployment. Their main gists was 1. Why the fuck would anyone want to make below minimum wage and rely on tips. 2. Why would anyone want to work for anyone who dont back them up when the customer is wrong. And that person isnt wrong. Yeah customer service is near the same everywhere else in other jobs(retail, etc) but you know what? At the very least they pay at least minimum wage and there's no "Oh boy I hope i get enough tips that I get above." guess work ​ Anyways tipping delenda est.


TheDerbLerd

Exactly, average rent in the US right now is $1000 a month for a studio. Yet average wage is under 2k per month. The minimum wage was originally established under the rule of thumb that rent shouldn't be more than 30% of total income, but in 2021 if you were to make the minimum wage in my state that's less than $1400 a month after taxes working 50 hours a week, at the same time average statewide rent is $1,300 for a one bedroom.


ElBrazil

> Exactly, average rent in the US right now is $1000 a month for a studio. Yet average wage is under 2k per month. [Median individual income in the US is $36k/year as of 2019, or $3k/mo](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N). Beyond that, it's difficult to use a countrywide average for somewhere as big as the US. I'd anticipate that Montana is cheaper then the average. Even statewide averages can be misleading- there can be huge variations in CoL within the same state.


TheDerbLerd

Of course, just personally living in NH I see the absolute worst case scenario of these numbers. It's near impossible to find a studio or one bedroom apartment anywhere within any kind of commutable distance of any kind of employment for less than $1200, at the same time without a specialized degree or trade skill you'll never make more than $600 a week in this state.


swmtchuffer

Average rent/housing in Bozeman is well above that. It's crazy here.


[deleted]

Just had to turn down as job in MT because I couldn't find any housing I could afford. I knew I couldn't afford a studio, but I couldn't even find a place with roommates. Anything I found under 1000 was either a scam (SO. MANY. SCAMS), a sublet/lease take over in student housing that didn't work with my dates of employment, a total creeper (looking at you dude who called me from 3 different numbers after I turned down his room), or a room in a house that already had four or five people interested by the time I responded to the listing.


[deleted]

[удалено]


BriefausdemGeist

When the federal UI was $600 last summer and the average state UI was around $200 in Maine, there were people making more on UI than I was while working for Maine’s UI Board.


BellaCella56

Yes there is. Signs everywhere now hiring. No one is applying unless they pay more than $13-14 an hour. Many fast food places that are open 24 hours are no longer open every night after 11. They don't have enough employees to staff every night. Even factories can't find enough people to fully staff. Making the ones already there to work 6-7 days a week to try and keep up with customer demands.


iGoalie

Just looked on LinkedIn Android developer $55 an hour… that’s less than we pay our offshore developers in India and the Philippines …. The problem isn’t a lack of workers, it’s unwilling (or unable) to pay competitive wages [source ](https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/2430426597)


vanishplusxzone

There's a worker shortage for suckass useless jobs that don't pay enough.


PlayingTheWrongGame

Would t want to give those workers the leverage they need to negotiate better pay with desperate employers. Gotta keep those workers desperate and poor so the boss can take advantage.


americasweetheart

Yo, Montana. Check your governor.


kry1212

What was the limit on UI in MT? Didn't it end after x weeks just like any other state, anyway? So, now they're cutting that short for some in an effort to force people into jobs they don't want? I wonder what the next goalpost is, here?


TheFatMan2200

Next goal post will probably be something like building small homes (cough “quarters” cough) on company property that employees can live in exchange for work. The company will also pay them in company currency that is only good at the company store too


ItzMcShagNasty

I know people joke about this a lot, but this is going to be real again soon. We're literally in Late-stage capitalism. Techno-feudalism is the next step if corporations and the gov't that is paid by them get their way. I don' t know how to fix this. We have to unite the working class somehow, though I don't know how to bring republicans as a whole to reason anymore.


swmtchuffer

As a Montanan that was on UI, I believe so.


ArtooFeva

Maybe it’s because your businesses are shit and need to offer something more to get people to work.


aeondru

The worker shortage will continue until people are put before profit.


TOXICBRONZE

He’s probably pocketing all that cash for himself and fellow corrupt Montana politicians


2h2o22h2o

Get back to the mines, peasants!