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| From Payscale.com |
Salisbury used to be a fantastic family town. In the post-WWII era, the economy was booming as many families relocated to enjoy the area's many employers and prosperity after the Great Depression had finally come to a close. Even during the Depression, the area didn't suffer as badly as many others in the country due to its largely agrarian culture, making it more attractive to people looking for escapes from urban areas faring much worse. After Ocean City began to thrive in the Fifties and Sixties, the town grew even more. Many of the area's younger generations returned after college life to start their families, living near all their relatives. They were the bedrock that caused the community to thrive, making even more reasons to love living in the Crossroads of Delmarva.
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| Zillow Property & Rental Assessment |
Looking at the data from popular sites dedicated to helping folks make decisions about where to relocate, Salisbury doesn't offer young, college-educated people the prospects many locals would love to believe. If you look at the trends, the expected increases are not enough to produce good-paying career jobs for even the kids graduating from local universities. What's a college grad or anyone of working age to do?
People don't go to college or learn a trade in order to live in Section 8, low-income housing...
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| Calculated on MD Comptroller's Website |
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| Calculated on MD Comptroller's Wesbite |
Are people not expected to even eat much less save for their retirement?
When doing the calculation of the two-week pay period with only healthcare deducted, the salary is hardly enough to pay for the area rent; therefore, if a person has a car payment, student debt repayment or, God forbid, any credit card debt whatsoever, the chances of their survival here in Salisbury looks bleak.
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| from Payscale.com |
No matter how much gerry rigged math you have, you can't put any lipstick on this pig and the future doesn't proffer a very promising view for many area workers for this area.
What happens to Salisbury when all the retirees and folks in mid-to-late careers die off? Who will pay taxes then with all the younger generations seeking their futures in more prosperous towns and cities? Only a few in our local government are entertaining this rising dilemma but are those few enough to halt and backtrack this downward spiral? Hardly.
Just something to think about...
Note: As always, click on the images to see large versions!
90 comments:
And instead of our county leaders doing all they can to bring good paying jobs back to our county, they fight with each other!
Not just the county but the city is also at war with the county.
You put those people in government. It's all about the citizens voting in bad choices that leads to this kind of problem. All the big plans for downtown are for naught when only the older people can enjoy it. People die and their wealth goes to their kids living elsewhere.
The Middle Class slow erosion is happening all over the country.
They rob the middle class and are unfriendly to business, local leaders cater to the losers so they get federal funding. Which always leads to the death of an economy.
The exodus began over two decades ago. Low and moderately priced houses were bought up by investors and landlords before signs went out in front yards, leaving scarcely any traditional starter homes. Jobs with good paychecks evaporated. The kids who read the writing on the wall don't live here anymore.
832 the middle class erosion is happening quicker here than in other areas. Trump can help the areas who want help but our mayor won't accept that help because he doesn't see the problem in the first place. Why would he when he got both of his jobs from daddy?
This article is spot on but I think the anti business policies and ridiculous environmental regs have hurt this state the most.
Some of that younger set -- Gillis, Gilkerson, etc. -- are doing just fine.
I just read on Dr. Dirreker's account on Salisbury Independent. Is he dreaming? The economy here isn't doing okay. What industrial park is fully rented?
845 it's not the state it's Salisbury-specific. The city government is killing the city. Jake, it's not all happening.
Salisbury is a wasteland. The only business thriving here are the drug treatment, mental health businesses, and guess what 99% of the patients are covered by medicaid. What does that say about your county/city leadership? Is this the type of business you want your city representing job possibilities? The courts are literally dumping all of the states prison releasees in your back yard and these businesses are fighting for all the business. If you can get out of Salisbury go, the foundation has been laid its only going to get worse and yes once again the flooding of low income federally funded housing is a nail in the coffin. Way to go Day you are a piss poor example of a leader. Go ask the people at 530 riverside who were unfortunate enough to buy one if the quarter million dollar waterfront condos only to have a parking lot full of addicts outside smoming, trashing the area
8:23,
The County Council took a step in the right direction to attract jobs by reducing the County's tax rate. Meanwhile, Salisbury raised its rate and now the Greater Salisbury Committee under Mike Dunn is talking about removing the County's tax revenue cap!
People like Cannon and Rinnier jack up rents while local employers get away with paying the least they can pay. Eventually that's going to kill any economy. Thanks for your greed!
The problem isn't the county, it's the city. A bunch of morons running around changing city flags and selling off property downtown for section 8. They are the culprits here.
Jake Day is like those typical fakers who drive a Mercedes but live in a studio apartment. They dress in designer clothes for show but owe over $30,000 on credit cards. It's all about aesthetics and not much more.
I would rather have a thriving economy based on real jobs instead of some GD folk music festival. Salisbury government has its priorities all screwed up probably because they have no idea what the hell they're doing.
Developers don't build for the sake of building it's about profit that's why only taxpayer funded buildings and section 8 apt complexes go up environmental regs make it unprofitable to build in this state.
Can we say Detroit has nothing on us - they've been a fine example for us - it's coming, just watch.
8:45 AM - I disagree 100%. I have worked for some of the bury elite and your head would spin. What is killing this town, are the greedy law breaking lying employers who think of no one but themselves. They make their money off the backs of their employees who live uninsured and in poverty.
With the born here elite I was subjected to sexual and age harassment. I have worked in hostile environments, where DOT laws were broken regularly, labor laws like not paying overtime were the norm. They also broke federal laws by not providing healthcare. The majority of the staff were illegals. Books were manipulated to skirt sales taxes and returns were fabricated lies. They have even forged employees signatures on reprimands that never happened. One guy built a 500K barn on this personal property with company funds and then told his employees there was no money for raises and your Christmas bonus was a company tshirt.
And now I hear one gossip monger is spreading lies about me to prospective employers because their goal is to make my life miserable and make me homeless.
And these are the born here's you all worship and elect to government positions.
If they conduct business personally in this fashion, what do you think they are doing behind closed doors as they represent themselves and pass laws to their benefit and without a thought of how it affects you.
You have the fox watching the hen house. You are idolizing people you don't even truly know.
In addition to the economic factors, there are also non-economic factors like the intolerance of anything new or anyone different. Who wants to move to an area where people are stigmatized because of their name, hair color, sexual preference, religion or lack thereof? Also, the crime rate doesn't help. There are so many areas with jobs, housing, safety and friendly communities.
Can only jack up so much before there are no takers - a person looks for the best place for less cost. Have Cannon/Rinnier jacked prices above what buyer/renter are willing to pay?
Mike Dunn 8:51, is a failed politician and likes to talk for attention. For instance, firecrackers....lol. He is in no position to mess with any cap and never will be. He purchased a home within the city limits to become mayor, but after his handlers realized citizens did not want anything to do with him in any office, the notion was dismissed as fast as he was.
948 Rinnier has a lot of Section 8 and also feeds off the transient college students that come in and out of the area. Same for Cannon. The kids looking at $1200.00 in rent every month find it cheaper than paying for SU's dorm rates and food plans because the other cost involved with that whole deal is SU playing nanny 24/7. They mandate all kinds of idiot regulations which makes students look for housing elsewhere. Cannon and Rinnier prey on them like shark bait.
Didn't the city make it mandatory to take Section 8 people for apartment complexes?
9:48 AM Great observation. I have been watching some rental properties on craigslist that have been vacant for nearly a year because the rents are so jacked up.
And then I wonder about who is listing them, that they don't realize the price is an issue. Then they re-list them as "reduced" and they still sit, because us savvy tenants know as soon as the first year is over they are going to turn around and jack up the rent on your renewal and put you in the position you were avoiding in the first place of not being able to afford the rent.
smdh
Federal grant programs are the whole reason why Day is all hot to trot for the low income housing in downtown. He's hoping by getting those grants with his buddy developers, they can build substandard housing cutting costs everywhere they can, which leaves the remainder of those grants for their pockets. Wouldn't it be interesting if someone would look into the backroom deals going on with this sham? Liz Holland is supposed to be the government watchdog at the Daily Mistake, why isn't she on the case?
9:55 AM I don' think it is legal for the city to force you to accept hud. If you used hud funds/grants to build you are obligated. its my property and i will chose who rents it, not the city.
955 if you look at some of the regulations, you'll see the city did pass a year or so ago that landlords cannot discriminate based on economic need. There was also a big push a few years ago and now on the books that many homes in the Camden area aren't allowed to rent to more than two people who are unrelated, which caused an issue in court a year or so ago.
These are methods city government uses to make you rent to people they want you to rent to. I guess this makes the chain link fence thing look small in comparisons.
Somehow the rules for landlords of private property don't apply to those rental companies that rent around Camden. There are a number of homes on College Ave between Riverside and Camden that have at least four students in each. They are exempt because they party with Janet Eschbach and donate to the school. It's kind of a pay to play scheme going on over there.
Right you are. I consider myself to have a pretty good job for the area, but have seen my quality of life drop drastically over the past few years. I spend too much time wondering how I'm going to support my family in the future.
Numbers don't lie even if Jake Day does. I've gone through these links and it is not good.
When Bellevance was president of SSC, those homes on College you're talking about were single-family for the most part 1006. Now it's almost all rentals with a couple of professors smashed in between. Eschbach has a good scam going.
10:03 AM I get what you are saying but it is a hard case to prove that I discriminated based on economic need. I am not obligated to take $200 less a month because someone can't afford it vs another applicant that can.
That was all a feel good dog and pony show. I kindly inquire as to any proof that this feel good ordinance has made any difference.
But this only proves what Thornton touched on in his article. That housing is now clearly unaffordable in this area when using income as a qualifying factor. Why else would the city feel it necessary to butt in and pass such a BS unenforceable rule.
1011 city government is trying to force people into using certain fencing. They are micro-managing Salisbury to fit their specific rhetoric so they can cash in with federal grants while hiding it all from the voters so they keep their jobs. Bait and switch.
that's what you get when you get a mayor by default. step up dweebs.
When you have the amount of rentals that Salisbury has you have less respect for the property and crime increases drastically. They need to push home ownership.
10:15 AM 5 star comment.
Well if you all chat about it at the golf course or the pub. Or you pull the traditional monkey see monkey do with pricing, what choice do we have as renters. Greed has fueled the increase in rental housing around here.
SU is the only reason we aren't Detroit already!!!!
Spot on!!
9:55 and the other similar commenters will continue to discriminate until the city and county do what is common place in other high rental areas. Those places have a department in the government with people that apply for rental properties and file charges against landlords that discriminate against them. I've heard certain landlords in the area discussing that they won't rent to this or that person while eating lunch or at happy hour.
10:33 AM I don't blame them one bit. I have seen what a certain class of people do.
I have no problem getting out of the game once the city interferes. And when that happens you will see a boat load of vacant dilapidated properties littering your community.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction
Maybe all the cosmetic changes Jake wants to make is to keep parents sending their kids to SU. Without them, Salisbury is done.
Barrie Tilghman and local banks started this downward spiral when they let the landlord class buy up houses around town and charge outrageous prices to college students. Some homes went for as little as $20,000. There were promises to fix up and rent them out. Ireton and Day have only continued this type of policy.
Get real.
If I owned a rental house and had to choose between renting to a single mother on a voucher (with three little kids, too) who doesn't have a job and a man and wife with one child and who both work full time, guess what?
It isn't rocket science you liberal losers.
Have you ever had to repair the damage to a house caused by renters who don't give a F about your house??? Broken windows, roaches, filthy appliances, broken fixtures, etc., and then there is the unpaid rent.
And 10:27....I'm not sure if voting any particular person or party can do anything effective now. We are SO deep in debt, just about everywhere one looks, that "politics" won't do much.
Many barely get by now. Give it some time. Desperation makes people do desperate things. The urban ghettos are already very desperate --- look at life in THAT situation. Let it spread (entropy) to small towns. Go ahead.
Renting 1940 dump houses that have been paid for 5 times over for $1200-1700 a month and whining about ANYTHING?
You may find yourself the target of the growing desperation of "we, the people".
When slumlords and their friends control the politics of a small town, you get exactly - exactly - what goes on in Salisbury Md. Along with one of the highest ratios of rental units in any town in the USA.
Keep cheering.
All you can change for free that really helps private sector jobs are; local zoning, storm water management, sediment and erosion control, forest conservation act and environmental programs. As well as strong accountability at the permitting level. How about having the permit clerks compete for bonuses based on the dollar value of projects approved! You can talk about being open for business all you want but until the site plan hits the reviewers desk it is all talk. Other states have similar environmental safeguards and they are implemented without killing private sector jobs but Maryland is just impossible to work in! Most politicians do not roll their sleeves up and focus on the nuts and bolts of regulations, they believe they are all above that mess, too good for the details and seem to focus on fancy renderings of projects never to be built and high price consultants with fancy comprehensive plans or ribbon cutting on government funded projects. They do not understand the primordial soup that is needed for a young entrepreneur to start a business. I know for sure that $50,000 in engineering and fees (actual taxes) and years in permitting is not the environment.
10:47 Typical slumlord threat response. When slumlords do that the prices of the house will fall to a level that the average person can buy them for much less than what the rent once was. Please pull out.
Things have gone way down hill since 2008 , the disaster years of obama , I was making $65,000 a year with an average bonus of $ 10,000 . I didn't have a degree either. You guys figure it out , I keep blaming obama , I wonder why?
Salisbury offers little incentive for young well educated men and women.
Mr. Crowe ,
A very good post of the truth , I did a comment a few minutes earlier , that I was making $65,000 a year. All of our managers in the company I worked for were paid well . After 2008 it seemed many businesses moved away from the the bury. I think Joe had a good example of the many companies that moved.
What the hell is wrong with the leaders in this county and city. I can only think it is the greed of the political arena. What's in it for me?
Day , Ireton , Cannon and all these crooked a$$e$ have to go . It's time for war , it's time for a revolution.
Priorities , chain link fences , rape of my grand daughter comes last . Day , keep looking over your shoulder .
The last two deputy administrator positions proves you don't even need an education as long as you drink with the right people 1142.
11:18 AM I have single home rental on the E side that has been occupied by the same tenant for over 12 years and I charge under 1K. I have been blessed.
I used to live here, but moved on because I saw the writing on the wall and disliked the culture of the community (or should I say, lack of). Trying to sell the house was a joke.
Typical idiotic rant from an uninformed nobody.
When you have something relevant to say we can chat.
Otherwise keep your ignorance and false accusations to yourself.
And here in lies another prime example of the other issues previously mentioned, ignorance of the born here's with their labels and intolerance of anything new or anyone different.
These comments are quite interesting. However, to me, the key point is the fact that it is only SBYNews exposing the facts and truth on this matter.
The other local media enjoy putting that lipstick on the pig because they know they are being fed false information/lies from elected officials.
I give Thornton a big 10 for this article as it is spot on. There is and always will be a very select special group receiving all of the inside information/bids/jobs that keep the Good Ol' Boys very fat and comfy.
Come on people, each and every one of you knows who won the election between Jim Ireton and myself. And before you come back here claiming I'm bitter, no I'm not. It's just easy for the nay sayers to simply claim I'm a sore loser because that's exactly how lying/cheating liberals work.
All I'm saying is, don't think for a second things are out of control here because I believe they have perfect control over every part of the local failures. It was Tilghman, then Ireton and now Day who are destroying Salisbury.
So now you have to ask yourself, DOES YOUR VOTE REALLY MATTER?
11:43 AM - A lot like you, back in 2009 I was making 60K with benefits. Not anymore. Life has definitely not gotten better.
I respect you Joe, Bob Culver and President Trump! You all truly care about our town, the people and our country ! You all talk and put action behind it! The liberals are just in it for money and power so selfish!!!! Will say anything to get a vote and continue to brainwash those who listen to all their lies.
Bob Culver is the only higher up whose working over at that damn government building downtown. Nobody else is and he's the one that gets being beat up by the rest. Always look to the person being blamed and abused by everyone else in government because that's the one who is actually doing something to make your lives better. Wake up Delmarva, this is your wake up call...................
1255 that's why John Cannon was trying to frame him in some big scandal. Cannon shouldn't be elected to anything again. I would have thought you idiots would have learned the first time you voted him out. Morons.
12:57, I couldn't agree more. Look, I'm not out to target Cannon but in this case he really screwed up. In my opinion it's abuse of power.
What has happened to the middle class ? Your either poor or rich now days, with no end in sight .
With that tax increases in Salisbury under Barrie, Jimbo and Fake Day, thank goodness that the County Council is now cutting the County's taxes.
I have said on this topic many times goodbye Maryland & Wicomico County as a life long resident I've set foot in Maryland for the last time after 50 years good riddance!
See ya 2:10....don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out! Bai Bai Bai
Is it time? It was time 20 years ago.
Great article TC,Joe and commenters that's how people learn is by interaction.
3:01 I'm sorry you can't leave or are to nearsighted to see what's coming! Also it's "Don't let the door hit ya where the Lord split ya!"
Just remember 359 before you show people the door to leave Salisbury, for every person gone that's one less person paying taxes which provides you with police and firefighters. If all the taxpayers leave you're on your own. Don't think for one minute the town will survive a mass exodus. You're a foolish idiot if you do. Have a nice 😵😵😵😵 day!
As soon as my last kid graduates I'll be leaving here as well.
Some of the working age people are trying to stay but it's getting harder each day to justify it. The problems in Salisbury are so massive there's really very little incentive to stay, 332p. It's a shame. Salisbury used to be a great place to raise a family. Some families would like to have their younger generations around because as people grow older they need help with simple things like going to the grocery store. The town's leadership doesn't factor in collateral damage that happens when they don't take care of business. Day would rather fight over fire stations with Culver and the county instead of doing something that really helps the community. A folk festival in a couple years isn't the answer but he's too shortsighted to realize it's just hubbub. Sounds good though.
And now Mikey Dunn and the Greater Salisbury Committee are counting on Memo ("I'll say whatever you pay for") Deriker to kill Wicomico County's tax cap. It's a good thing we have the current County Council to make that a nonstarter.
If Mike Dunn does what he wants he will have no one left to foot the bill for his mouth. Anyone listening to Dunn is an idiot. 418 the county council will never let this stupid moron win. He needs to stick with the city where his moron friend gives him favors.
We're lucky if they even graduated from high school much less college. What a joke. The whole city government should be sent packing.
1143 it's easy to talk revolution when you've never been through one but hardly practical. Find people who will run against Boy wonder and then move towards getting the word about the good ole boys who we all know have massive corruption surrounding them and inside deals going on.
Could any of them withstand an IRS & FBI investigations?
It's time to start calling for federal help to step in and you couldn't have a more willing president to do this with than Donald Trump. Start calling tomorrow. Sooner you get the good ole boys out of power the better off everyone in Salisbury will be.
Not just educated 1142 but also Blue Collar. The town is sinking as fast as a sinkhole after a flood. Problems are almost too much to mount but if we all work together we can get better leadership. Salisbury deserves better than Day and his crowd.
Salisbury doesn't have much to offer anymore except plenty of bars and fast food restaurants. There is not even one decent grocery store. I now have to travel over an hour one way to get groceries most of the time. No fabric stores. Wards and Penney's are long gone and Sears and Kmart are not going to last much longer. Walmart is not an option for us. Lots of junk at quality prices. Not to mention some of the riff raff that hang out there. It's also not safe here anymore. Seems like there is a panhandler on every corner. A lot of people that rent do not care about the property they live in. Property values seem to be in a steady decline while taxes and other assessments just continue to rise. Jake Day and others can preach all they want about section 8 housing, bike paths, and making the area more beautiful. But that is not going to solve the problems of very few jobs, unaffordable decent housing, no places to shop, or the fact that crime is not reported accurately. I just hope that when the time comes for us to sell out in a few more years and finally go somewhere where we can live safely, and have all the amenities that we need, it will be possible to do so.
I will add that most entitlement people on welfare and food stamps make in excess of $40,000.00 a year , depending on how many kids they have . A family with 4 kids can rake in around $60,000.00 and free healthcare . Ain't it great!
4:18, 4:21 and everyone,
I agree that the current County Council is our best protection against Dunn, Deriker, the Greater Salisbury Committee and other rabble-rousers to numerous to mention.
One big problem all over the Country is the erosion of wages vs. price inflation.
The US Dollar has been devalued by the endless spending in Washington DC and debt creation by the big banks.
The US Dollar is a terrible store of value and anyone who saves in Dollars are sorely losing in the long run.
A few months ago my house was worth $210,000 on Zillow. Last week it was $175,000. I wonder what did that in such a short time.
Zillow runs algorithms based on listings, sales, tax assessments and some other proprietary data. They are not always correct. all the homes on a block may be within a few thousand of each other but one has a 3 car garage and is a corner property.
906 but Day says your house gained $137,000 in value since he's been Mayor. Where have you been?
"Is It Time for the Young Working Class to start Evacuating Salisbury?"
Short answer: Yes
Long answer: Hell, yes.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
I will add that most entitlement people on welfare and food stamps make in excess of $40,000.00 a year , depending on how many kids they have . A family with 4 kids can rake in around $60,000.00 and free healthcare . Ain't it great!
July 30, 2017 at 5:07 PM
I think I have heard that before, even with a video explaining how.
But to be honest, if I knew how I would probably do it myself. I don't blame the people for taking advantage of loop holes or whatever enables them to do that, I blame the policy makers for allowing the loopholes to be there so people can.
The United Way of the Eastern Shore has put together The Alice Report. through a series of new, standardized measurements, the United Way ALICE Project presents a broad picture of financial insecurity at the state, county, and town level, and the reasons for why. What this new body of research unveils is startling – the size of the workforce in each state that is struggling financially is much higher than traditional federal poverty guidelines suggest. Organizations across the country are using this data to better understand the struggles and needs of their employees, customers, and communities. The result is that ALICE is rapidly becoming part of the common vernacular, appearing in the media, and is stimulating a fresh, nonpartisan dialogue about how to improve conditions for this growing population of families living paycheck to paycheck. It is on their web site and very eye opening.
Shure IS Time to Leave !!!! All Bad JOBs here !!!!!
If u like being poor all ur life > then Stay !!!!
Day lives in some alternative universe. Nothing he says has anything behind that's why he doesn't provide links or evidence.
Some of us already have! I took my job search to the mainland after Perdue had their layoffs about six years ago!
If you don't make enough money here, think about getting training for a new job and go where the job is, even if it isn't here.
An SU education can provide a good customer service background for a bus driving job in Ocean City. They do pay nearly the $15/hr rate that others want from McDonalds and it doesn't require as much education (dropouts listening?). A lot of people get buy with low rent housing in Salisbury and riding a Shore Transit bus for a few hours to get there.
Beats killing chickens.
Yes, some of the younger set are doing fine, thanks to their daddies.
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