Whole Foods halts plans!!! (Pittsburgh, Highland Park: purchase, tax, to live in)

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by gg

It seems the privileged MUST live within the city limits as some sort of prestige, but the smart people see this and will move to places like Etna and Sharpsburg.

Not sure if this was a reference to me, or just a comment in general.

Originally Posted by gladhands

Agreed

You and I agree on something? I'm not a gambling man, but I feel like I should go for a walk to buy a lottery ticket this evening, haha!

Originally Posted by Ferrari1972

If you like working for the city more power to you. They have a residency requirement that will never change. Expecting them to pay you what you are worth is foolhardy as well. Look at how underpaid the police are. If they aren't getting paid it is most likely you won't either. It's a city that will probably never exit act 47. So nobody will be getting raises to what they are worth. Shrinking tax base and no job growth equals less taxes which equals lower wages to city workers.

One thing I know that the Pittsburgh area is chock full of 30k a year jobs. Why not apply to one with another company and it gets you out of the residency requirement? Then you can move to an Etna or sharpsburg. Your wage tax would drop by 2 percent.

SCR - look into a County job perhaps? Excellent benefits, and there is a residency requirement - but you could move to anywhere in Allegheny County.

And a select few in the City get paid. Pedutohead raised the minimum wage for City workers so he could pad his Progressive credentials. And they are constantly creating new Director positions so he can hire some crony. Act 47 only applies to the Police, since he hates them.

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I personally don't know why real wage growth continues to be so sluggish.

I think its because of the universities. They attract intelligent kids from across the hinterlands of Western Pennsylvania who desperately don't want to go back to their BFE podunk hometowns after graduation, have a mountain of debt, and will kill their own mother for a job in their field. It's why employers here can get away with low pay and not valuing their employees - there's a fresh batch of qualified new kids to hire every December and May.

Originally Posted by Ferrari1972

This is still a very big " it's all about connections and who you know type of town". Know your role, keep your mouth shut and be happy you have a job. It is a culture unlike any other I have seen.
...
They only care about the rich and poor in this town. The middle class is non existent

I agree entirely.

Originally Posted by Ferrari1972

There is nothing for the middle wage earners above 50 and up to 75K a year.
Basically Pittsburgh is great if you are under 30 and over 45.

I'd say there's nothing between 35k and 55k.
And I'd say under 25 and over 45.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Ferrari1972

My attitude towards that was sarcasm and you missed it. I would leave if I was that miserable. I would never advocate doing that, but Pittsburgh is a place that only seems to care about those that have a good amount of disposable income and those that have nothing. There is nothing for the middle wage earners above 50 and up to 75K a year. Those jobs are few and far between. You are either stuck low like SCR or you go elsewhere for 20 years and apply for 100k plus a year at a HQ job in Pittsburgh. The middle ladder jobs are not plentiful. That's why you have a low proportion of younger families and the school age kids continue to drop. That is also why you have a lot of older people

Basically Pittsburgh is great if you are under 30 and over 45. Very little mobility exists for those in the prime earning years of their life and when people have families. The city misses out on a large stable chunk of people for years. The ones that do have those jobs get taxed to death

Nepotism still very much exists too. It is a know your role and keep mouth shut city

Not buying the sarcasm but in case you missed my obvious points:

Again, the main complaint by SCR is having a $30k/year job.

Again, with overtime, SCR already said multiple times that he makes $40k/year with overtime.

Again, a bachelors degree in liberal arts isn't going to get you a higher paying job.

Again, I've never said there were an abundance of higher paying jobs for lower levels of education.

Again, if you can't make over $30k/year with a bachelors degree there's something wrong with you.

At some point you need to quit blaming everyone else and do something to better your situation because nobody is going to do that for you and if in the end it means relocation, then that's what one needs to do.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Ferrari1972

Im not blaming anybody else. I think you can make a great living in this country if you are flexible and willing to go where your skills are in demand. My point is the Pittsburgh area is really unlike any other large us metro. There is very limited opportunity to build a career there unless you are in a select job field that is doing well in the area. You can get a 30K a year job out of college, but the paths to middle management or 7 to 10 years working experience wages or a step up to 35-65K don't really exist in Pittsburgh. So you are either stuck in a low paying job forever. Or you have to relocate to where you have a path to middle career wages. Then after working elsewhere for 15 years you may be able to relocate back and get a high paying career in the burgh if nepotism doesn't stop you from getting it. And why would you move back after establishing roots elsewhere?

it is literally a fight between the reality that SCR faces and somebody like yourself that sees nothing wrong with how things are. You will always blame that person as its their fault. You are both wrong. Instead of working together the legacy Pittsburgh people want things to stay the way they are. The newbies barely get crumbs yet they protest and complain hoping legacy people such as yourself get it. That is a waste of time and energy. Vote with your feet and move or run for office or start a business. That why there is a constant outmigration and school enrollment dropping like a rock. Families and young people are going elsewhere.

And a liberal arts degree can get you a higher paying job if you end up in a company with paths towards promotion and growth. Those are few and far between in the burgh these days.

Again, and I don't know how to explain it any easier for you, and it sounds like it pertains to you, when you have a job to do you need to be able to comprehend things. If you aren't able to make over $30k/year with a bachelors degree, there is definitely something wrong with you.

Crying about the way things are instead of trying to do something to change them won't help you in any way, and if relocation is the only way to better your situation, move.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by erieguy

Crying about the way things are instead of trying to do something to change them won't help you in any way, and if relocation is the only way to better your situation, move.

The other Ferrari agrees with you on this! Here's hoping SCR will apply for those Woodland or Brighton homes.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Ferrari1972

No this doesn't pertain to me. I am making much more than 30K a year. I have the unique ability to see things from both sides. Both you and SCR make good points, but both of you are wrong on things as well. I didn't need to protest to get my high wages, nor did I need nepotism to help me get hired. Frankly, where I live is much nicer than Cranberry. And my taxes are low, good schools and a sense of community.

I am just calling you out on being a legacy Pittsburgher, which you prove time and time again with each response.

Sorry, but I'm not buying it, especially coming from someone who originally suggested living off of others.

A legacy Pittsburgher? Lol.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Ferrari1972

To be honest if you want to live in Pittsburgh take the lowest paying job available and let people like Erie dude pay more in taxes then their 401k to keep you fed and shelterd. Or give up the good fight and move on to a place where your skills are needed just like thousands have done before you.

This right here speaks volumes.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Ferrari1972

Sorry you can't comprehend the sarcasm in that post. I can't help a legacy Pittsburgher see the light.

When you make a statement with "To be honest", that in no way denotes sarcasm, especially when you also suggest living off of other people.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Ferrari1972

Boy I really struck a nerve didn't I? Such a simple statement set you off.

So did nepotism help you get to where you are? Did it allow you to flourish in a job you weren't really qualified for? If so you should be grateful. You live in cranberry, which is pretty good for the Pittsburgh area. The back and forth makes me think you are insecure about something. Maybe you wish the Whole Foods was coming to cranberry and not staying in east liberty?

Someone who is capable of working but chooses to live off of others is a big problem. It seems your issue with nepotism and others having the ability to make make money touches your nerve. It also sounds like you're a legacy welfare recipient.

Actually, I went to college and got a degree. Applied for a job and worked my way into a well paying position rather than expecting everyone else to give me something or feel sorry for me.

There's already a Whole Foods in Wexford. We already have 5 grocery stores within a few miles of each other, 6 if you count Costco.

Insecure would be thinking that someone's friend or relative would receive a job instead of me. If you're in a desireable field and good at what you do you'll get a good job and be paid accordingly.

[gg]

Originally Posted by jay5835

Really?

Um, yes. Feeling hard times like that give you perspective. People protesting jobs in an area that NEEDS JOBS from a company that pays a living wage? You have got to be kidding me! The protestors are morons and don't have life experiences to have enough education to really have a say. They are in other words idiots. Imagine someone in 1970 Pittsburgh protesting a company trying to expand and create jobs? Hello???? Talk about a privilege bunch running the show around here. Laughable AND embarrassing!

[gg]

Originally Posted by ferraris

I'm assuming you weren't the "type of buyer" they deal with because they are looking for owner-occupants.

WRONG! I was renting at the time in Highland Park and wanted to live in a home I purchase. Sure I would keep it for two years, so it was tax free when I sold it, but they took one look at me as a white person and laughed at me. It is what it is. The can stick it!