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gcreekrch
Rancher
Joined: 21 Feb 2008
Posts: 8507
Location: west chilcotin bc
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Faster horses
Rancher
Joined: 11 Feb 2005
Posts: 18920
Location: SE MT
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 Posted: Sun May 24, 2009 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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If I were you, I'd look into good ole' WYOMING. Or perhaps Canada, as someone suggested. I don't know about Canada, but I do know a bit about
Montana/Wyoming.
WY land isn't cheap, but you can get a job with decent wages.
Wyoming politics are very good, IMO.
They stand for things and are not pushovers.
When we moved to Western Montana in 1975, we were told
the plan was to make one big National Park from Yellowstone
to Glacier. We laughed then. But soon found out it wasn't a laughing
matter.
In Montana, the east has the money, but the west has the people
so much of our tax money goes to the west...to promote...TOURISM.
Montana is a funny state. No sales tax; property owners bear the
burden of the taxes. Montana has been anti-business for years.
They don't want to use their natural resources (Wyoming is way
ahead in that department). We let the rich use Montana for a playground
and if they pay any tax, it is a BED TAX. If they bring their motor
homes, they don't even pay that. We have one of the highest fuel
taxes in the nation. I read somewhere that Montana is next to California
as far as taxes are concerned. If you buy a new vehicle here, you don't pay sales tax on it; you just pay an extremely high price to license your vehicle for several years.
In my business, I have learned that not much goes out of Montana on
a truck, but a lot comes in.
When we moved to W. Montana there was quite a bit of industry.
Cominco Phospate Plant at Garrison--gone now; Burlington Northern--gone now, except for a train that comes through; Anaconda Company--gone now; logging--curtailed a bunch. What has remained is Mt. State Prison; Galen-Warm Springs--all which are state run institutions and LP--Louisiana Pacific Sawmill. And if LP hiccups, the whole town coughs.
Again, Montana is and has always been anti-business. The Workman's Comp rates are ridiculous--many companies have moved to Wyoming because the Workman's comp rates there are MUCH lower. Montana has more government bureaucrats per capita, highway patrolmen, etc. than any state surrounding it (or at least they used to).
Make no mistake, Montana wants RICH people here.
JMHO.
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Oldtimer
Rancher
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 24330
Location: Northeast Montana
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2009 3:29 pm Post subject: |
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Really when you compare to the rest of the country as a whole the state isn't in as bad a situation as most of the country....
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The highest percentage budget gaps for 2009 were reported in Alaska and Arizona where the shortfalls exceeded 20 percent of general fund budgets. States projecting 2011 budget gaps included California, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas and Vermont.
"The fiscal situation facing states is like a bad horror movie - the details get more gruesome and the story never seems to end," the State Budget Update said.
Here's how the NCSL summarized Montana's situation: "There is a significant downturn in revenues anticipated for FY 2009 and 2010, with some improvement anticipated by FY 2011. The Legislature is dealing with the lower level of revenue by reducing the amount of increases requested by the governor and using federal stimulus money to the extent possible to bridge the gap between the 2011 and 2013 biennium."
That isn't the rosy picture seen here 12 months ago, but it's not a horror story. Montanans can be relieved and proud that the generally responsible way our state government has operated has put our state among the few this year that are avoiding both painful tax increases and reductions in public services. |
At least there was a little ray of sunshine in the jobs report that came out Friday- a lot of the summer/stimulus package jobs are opening up:
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In Friday's report, Arkansas and Montana tied for the biggest over-the-month payroll gains at 1,500 a piece. They were followed by Florida, which saw an increase of 1,300 jobs.
On the hiring front, North Dakota again registered the nation's lowest unemployment rate -- 4 percent. It was followed by Nebraska with a 4.4 percent jobless rate, Wyoming at 4.5 percent and South Dakota with 4.8 percent.
In another bit of mildly encouraging news, the Labor Department reported that mass layoffs -- job cuts of 50 or more by a single employer -- dipped to 2,712 in April, from a record-high of 2,933 in March. Still, more than 271,000 workers were fired in last month's cuts, more than double the total from April 2008. |
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Faster horses
Rancher
Joined: 11 Feb 2005
Posts: 18920
Location: SE MT
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Oldtimer
Rancher
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 24330
Location: Northeast Montana
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2009 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Faster horses wrote: |
Going to www.mt.gov it shows Montana at 8.9% unemployment;
that's almost twice as high as Wyoming, ND and SD.
Interesting.
Wyoming is a Right-to-Work State, BTW. |
Are you sure you didn't look at the national rate?
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In April 2008, Montana’s unemployment rate was 4.2 percent. The jobless rate in April 2009 was 6.0 percent, down ever so slightly from March’s rate of 6.1 percent.
By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate in April was 8.9 percent, nearly one-third higher than Montana’s rate, and up 0.4 percent from March.
http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/05/22/news/state/48-unemployment.txt
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If you ever note- usually the highest unemployment rates are in counties with Reservations- and Montana has 7 of them...
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Blkbuckaroo
Rancher
Joined: 21 Feb 2008
Posts: 3057
Location: Northern California
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Faster horses
Rancher
Joined: 11 Feb 2005
Posts: 18920
Location: SE MT
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2009 4:44 pm Post subject: |
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Mostly Liberals in Helena.
And the most populated areas for years were Anaconda, Butte and
Helena. Union towns.
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kris
Member
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 702
Location: big sky country
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| Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 12:56 pm Post subject: |
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FH---you hit the nail on the head!!! Been here for 30 years and cannot believe the changes I have seen!! this little town (for example)....15 years ago, you could walk into any bar/grocery store/cafe and recognize damn near everyone....now, you walk in and recognize MAYBE 2 faces!!! Many folks are moving in because "the scenery is sooooo pretty"....take it from this single mom, scenery does not put a roof over the heads of your kids or put food on the table or pay the power bill!! Our cost of living is increasing dramatically and our "pay raises" are pathetic!! Like the majority of the rest of the country, the poor are getting worse and the rich are reaping the benefits!! The cost of housing (compared to what the average Montana resident earns) is astronomical!!! Yes, I could make more money elsewhere, but I simply cannot take my boys from all they know!! Yes, Montana is pretty, but the wealthy are moving in, buying all the land, closing access to the locals and jacking up the cost of living for those of us who live here!! Yep.....Wyoming is looking good!! 
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PATB
Member
Joined: 10 Apr 2009
Posts: 335
Location: Turner, Maine
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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Ben
Check out NY if you are looking for farmland. The eastern part along Route 22 has alot of old dairy farms and fields not being used. The west has the scenery but has a limited market for grass finished beef.
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per
Rancher
Joined: 22 Dec 2007
Posts: 6090
Location: SW Alberta
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| Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 3:39 pm Post subject: |
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| PATB wrote: |
Ben
Check out NY if you are looking for farmland. The eastern part along Route 22 has alot of old dairy farms and fields not being used. The west has the scenery but has a limited market for grass finished beef. |
Sometime back in the '90s we looking into selling this overpriced real estate and moving to anywhere in the English speaking world. The Northern part of NY state by far had the best production value per acre of all the countries we researched. Choose however to get over ourselves and realise why it is over priced and enjoy where we are.
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Northern Rancher
Rancher
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 12235
Location: saskatchewan
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| Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 8:32 am Post subject: |
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| Well you could always buy a little bar in Glasgow and visit with some of our ranchers.net posters-no matter where you go there are advantages and disadvantages but I don't think any one place is easy streeet or conversely I doubt there is any where it's impossible to make a living. If you aren't afraid to work I'm pretty sure I can hook you up with a ranch job in Montana-I know my rodeo kids get offers every time we drop below the medicine line.
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Trinity man
Rancher
Joined: 12 Feb 2009
Posts: 1123
Location: Midway Texas
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| Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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Have you thought about Texas? I am just starting the grass fed calves here and its going pretty good so far. I have already sold 6 calves in about two weeks and I just put an ad in the Houston news paper this coming week. Not many people are doing this around here most people I have talked to around here look at me like I am crazy or something but they will be laughing out the other side of their mouth later. Jobs are here but you just have to hunt a little. The oil industry looks like it’s making a comeback now with the prices of oil going back up. Property taxes are not too bad either if you get an Ag exemption on your land. The only bad thing is the Texas HEAT.
I remember one year the college I went to was playing Montana (Sam Houston) and them boys had hell with it in August. So just be really for it. If you did come down here.
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