The Money Quote

After I posted that article yesterday, about El Paso’s low salaries, I was reminded that I left out the best part of the story. From the Inc.:

It’s no secret that El Paso’s hourly wages and salaries are low. But a 2018 salary guide by Robert Half, a national firm that specializes in placing finance professionals, puts El Paso last among 140 cities in the U.S.

Half’s guide shows salaries in El Paso as being 28 percent below national averages and the only below-average city among the seven largest cities in Texas. The closest is San Antonio at 1 percent above average.

. . .

“All I can say is yes we’re aware of it,” [Mayor Dee Margo] said. “We’re doing everything we can to overcome it. Now, our housing costs are less than a lot of communities, and we have our quality of life.”

. . .

El Pasoans like to point to the city’s low cost of living as a big advantage, especially when it comes to home prices, but [Workforce Solutions Borderplex CEO and former City Manager Joyce] Wilson said it’s really not a significant factor in El Paso’s favor.

“We looked at that, and even though housing prices may be lower, if you look at taxes, utilities and other factors, our cost of living is not dramatically lower than some other areas,” she said. “So we can’t use that as the overriding reason to keep wages lower.”

Suddenly Ms. Wilson is cognizant of our tax rates.

I guess there’s hope for the rest of them.

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