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Rural Towns Are Aging, Cash-Strapped and in Desperate Need of Workers (www.wsj.com)

submitted 4 months ago by MicroWave to c/economics

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With younger labor in short supply, aging workers often find themselves pulling double—or triple—duty to keep towns afloat

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[–] Shadywack 22 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Okay, rent/mortgage is 3 grand a month and many of the positions they're bitching about filling pay 40-60k a year. The aging workforce got their mortgage decades ago and have a dirt cheap cost of living.

This isn't a small town issue, it's just where the symptoms have a more direct affect. We're all pretty equally trapped, fucked, and/or hopeless. Yay capitalism.

[–] CrayonRosary 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Okay, rent/mortgage is 3 grand a month

You have no idea WTF you're talking about. Mortgages in rural towns are absolutely no where near $3,000/mo. Not even close. Try under a grand.

Let me go pick a random rural town in upstate, NY: Newark, NY. The population was 9,017 at the 2020 census according to wikipedia.

Here's a house: 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1,400 sqft., 0.2 acre lot: $90,000. Estimated monthly payment: $569. If you take home $40k a year after taxes, that's 1/6 of your monthly income.

That took 5 seconds of searching. Sure, it might need a new roof soon, and new carpets, and some paint. But all that makes it $130k tops.

So what the hell are you smoking? Do you even know what rural means?

[–] calcopiritus 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

130k renovation for a 90k house. Might wanna take those 130k in consideration for the monthly cost.

[–] teamevil 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

They meant 40k renovation not 130. 90+40=130 plus no way a roof and carpet cost more than the house

[–] calcopiritus 1 points 4 months ago

That makes more sense.

Idk if 130k makes sense for roofs+carpet. Prices are wildly different in USA vs Europe. Just saw the difference between "130k" and "90k".