Our taxes are not as low as they might appear

My friend Ruth Schutz speaks truth in the RCJ this week:

Paying a living wage will improve local economy

Gov. Daugaard is advertising South Dakota’s workforce as worth less than a living wage; it used to be that we were sold as having a good work ethic.

He obviously has not run the numbers to see what you can afford on $10 an hour; it’s not a living wage. Even Gov. Janklow admitted in his last term in office that $10 was not a living wage.

There is a sense of despair trying to make ends meet when you have to work two jobs just to make enough money to care for your family and then find time to parent your children.

South Dakota’s taxes are not as low as they appear. Teachers buy materials that the school does not supply that they need to teach their classes. That is taxes!

Some parents have to pay for busing their children. That is taxes!

Working for less than a living wage is paying taxes every hour you work. If these workers were paid a living wage, it would improve the local economy as they would spend their money on the needs of themselves and their families.

Ruth K. Schutz

Rapid City

Read more: http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-tuesday-oct/article_c3d54fa8-f906-11e0-afe0-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1bTL9COTa