Editorial by Matt Marquardt –
BOOKMEYERSVILLE, USA – A job paying 9 dollars and 50 cents an hour is incredible. So spectacular, in fact, that many folks in these parts take two or three of them, just for the sheer exuberance of coming in to work everyday.
This economic reality was established last year by the mayor and city council of this fair city when they proclaimed to the world that those gigs are amazing and an over-achievement. True, in much of America, many people turn their noses up at jobs that pay so little. But in Bookmeyersville, USA, you take what you can get or you may find yourself panhandling on Christmas Eve at the Indianhead shopping center.
Now, it has come to the attention of NIT that a county job paying 12 bucks an hour had over 140 applicants. That fact was confirmed by a Cerro Gordo County Health Department spokesperson. “We did receive approximately 140 applications for the Customer Service Assistant position,” I was told.
Twelve bucks an hour is nothing to scoff at in the land ruled by the chubby little drinker known as Eric Bookmeyer. He probably pays his maid at least that much for her regular cleaning duties at his home, plus a likely tip when she works overtime (wink wink). You throw in IPERS and an insurance plan and bang, you got yourself dozens of applicants looking to pull themselves out of the dredges of daily life many people here find themselves in.
For the other 140 or so who were not lucky enough to land the Customer Service Assistant position, I have good news for you all: Manpower is hiring, and with any luck they can get you started at Kraft or somewhere like that for a close-to-amazing wage… minus their cut, of course.
So as we march forward into the year 2014, let us rejoice in knowing that there is salvation for a select few out there that can parse the haystack and find that little gem – that rare, tiny beacon of light here in Bookmeyersville that eludes so many – a job that pays 12 bucks an hour.
That job DID pay $10/ hour, but when the people they hired didn’t work out or come back, they upped the starting wage.
Aaaahhaha sooo the truth is out!
Wow Matt, you just slammed half of the Iowa work force, congratulations!
Ok here is my idea. Let have some town hall meeting with someone running the meeting and discuss idea on drawing business to town. Good jobs. Determine a living wage and see what we need to do to draw jobs that pay the living wage. Work with colleges to get people educated, business to see what they need. Business from outside the area to see what they are looking for in employees. The meeting must stay on task and stay positive. Not a bitch session. Form groups to meet with the state and other government officials at all levels. This list is endless if we start. This meeting can not be city run by city officials but they are welcome to attend.
How about holding a town meeting and discuss ways you can CREATE jobs. Why always look to someone else for answers? Create your own economies. What do you think China does? They look at the world’s products, reverse engineer them, then manufacture them turning them out for a fraction of the cost. Even if you aren’t creative or smart enough to invent your own products, you can always look at what’s being made and duplicate them.
I for one am sick of all the dependent thinking that has plagued North Iowa. Innovate…and Collaborate for once in your boring uneventful lives.
@Philly-Dependent thinking is the way of the liberals. I think you will agree to that.
Not necessarily. In North Iowa, dependency plagues both ends of the political spectrum, and a lot in between. People have forgotten how to make things for themselves. Our community is completely dependent on outside sources to survive.
Must be a slow news day for N.I.T? Does luck usually get you a job? Maybe it would for a position at N.I.T?
Masked by the contempt for Mayor Bookmeyer, there are some gross exaggerations in this editorial. To be fair, I am not a fan of the mayor, either. I think there are MANY more qualified individuals that could lead this city far better than Mr. Bookmeyer. But, drawing a straight line to the mayor for the lack of jobs in the area is a lazy accusation.
Tell me what is going to attract new jobs to the area? What types of jobs do you envision attracting to the area that would pay the wages you think are appropriate? MC/ North Iowa doesn’t have a high-skill labor force for attracting high-paying positions. Our beloved NIACC isn’t exactly incubating very marketable candidates.
Tax incentives (the mayors only real carrot to wave) will only reel in more of the low-paying factory type jobs you have deemed unworthy of human duty.
The fact is that there ARE jobs out there. Maybe not every job is the corner office, 401k, 5 weeks vacation job we all FEEL we’re entitled to. But not everyone in the tribe can be the medicine man; some have to gather wood, and some have to cook the food. And there is no dishonor in being the wood gatherer.
You might want to start with the clear victories that smaller nearby towns are winning in drawing NEW industry and NEW jobs to their communities, and contrast that with the clear LACK of new industry in Mason City. Osage, Lake Mills, Charles City, all have new companies moving in and offering very good paying jobs. There are people living in Mason City right now who drive to Charles City to make $20 an hour and much more at Cambrex, just to start, and much more per hour very quickly. The new fertilizer plant in Osage will employ hundreds and is brand new to North Iowa. Lake Mills got the new Winnebago plant. What did Mason City get? NOTHING. Why? Because the Chamber of Commerce dues-payers like Kraft, Graham, Mercy and others do NOT want to compete with the higher wages these companies would offer. The Chamber of Commerce CONTROLS the North Iowa Economic Development Corp. (EDC) which is Mason City’s first line of contact with prospective new indusry. The EDC is a tenant at the Chamber’s building on Federal Avenue. It pays thousands of dollars in rent just to be there. Eric Bookmeyer, through his council, controls a major source of funding to the EDC and sits on the EDC board. These chamber of commerce members were big contributors to Bookmeyer’s mayoral campaigns. He is fighting for them. They want the wage scale CONTROLLED. There is a clear connection between this mayor, Eric Bookmeyer, and the sad state of affairs in Mason City. By controlling the EDC, Bookmeyer and his cronies can easily LOSE the “battle” to bring in new industry and the jobs that come with it. With such a dismal record of bringing in NEW jobs that pay well, there is no other conclusion to draw here other than Brent Willet at the EDC and Eric Bookmeyer along with the Chamber of Commerce are PURPOSELY resisting good paying jobs locating in Mason City.
What do these small, nearby towns have that we do not?
The better question is: What do WE have that THEY do not?
The answer is Eric Bookmeyer and the EDC.
Now THAT is the kind of writing that I can respect. Packs way more punch than snarkey name calling.
What you say probably isn’t far from the truth. It doesn’t take a moron to see the very cozy relationships between all those individuals.
It would take a lot more than luck for Matt to hire you. Obvious answers to all your questions, as Matt said, look around the area as other towns dominate the new job scene and mc gets zip. Pretty clear what’s going on. A crying shame that people elect clowns like Mr. Bookmeyer.
4.8% unemployment in MC
The median household income in Mason City is 14% less than the Iowa average.
The poverty level in Mason City is 24% greater than the Iowa average.
They should have voted !
Bookmeyer didn’t win out of love and respect and honesty or for the kindness to man kind. We KNOW this.
Maybe the workers of Mason City will think again on election day.
Doubt it. Made to suffer, they are, like an old dying cow in manure-filled pasture, Bookmeyer and his henchmen are blood-suckers leaching off the cow’s back. And the cow lays there moaning and takes it, just like a maid who gets a sweet tip to stay late.
Matt I can see why Mr. Bookmeyer hid like a coward when you challenged him to debate. He would not stand a chance. Keep reporting the truth as it really is here, peace out.
Did you watch the state of the city address? What a colossal joke. Victory is now defined as simply KEEPING a few ordinary jobs from fleeing. He forgot to mention the hundreds of thousands of dollars, for one example, that the city and the EDC gave Metalcraft just to move across town. Too many other examples to name (Harley). The fat man is not fooling anyone. Only his own cronies drink Eric’s spiked kool-aid. The other 82% of the city gave up on him long, long ago.
The mayor has stated the bleeding has stopped but the patient has died. I get sick when I think of this mayor, if I include the council, I sometimes throw up as well.
Enjoy your lawsuit.
Don’t use Kelly Services to look for work. They are horrible and never call you or keep you up to date. You might as well do the job search yourself, because Kelly Services certainly isn’t doing it.
The IPERS and insurance make that job worth going after. Especially for a married person who is looking for a second income. The Cerro Gordo County Health Department is a great place to work.
Ok…that’s one job. Last I knew, there were 30 some thousand people in MC.
Amen !!!
Remember who voted for what we have and quit complaining
$24,960 a year! You could pay your rent and still have enough left over for utilities. If Ma gets a job, they could even buy groceries. However, by the time they pay for that extra car and the expenses that go with it so Ma can get to work, plus the cost of child care, they probably won’t gain that much. Get an education and get out of this town!
Sad to say, but you just described the reason people cant afford to work full time with low wages. no more food stamps. no more free medical. no more heating benefits. Plus many of these people are younger, single with kids.
Working full time actually means gone all day working their ass off. never seeing their kids for quality time. just so they can pay someone to babysit their kids, while feeding them at your house. plus a better car that will get you to work at 7am in these temps.