That is hilarious! I’m still laughing!
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The removal of the brush and extra trees has begun at the pond. Planning to hire a guy to use a bobcat with a brush cutter attachment and a tree sheer. The dozer and fixing the dam will come afterwards. First i needed to insure the property and take possesion of the official deed.
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As many of you know warmer weather and i get along better than the sub zero stuff we have now. Im looking forward to spending lots of time at the new place this year. I will hire plenty of the work done.
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Glad you can find help to hire…here after they get their 5 to 10 thousand as a “Rapid Refund” you can’t get anything out of anyone, except those that already have a job, and they don’t have the time.
I certainly didn’t get as many planting spots cleared in the fall as I hoped to…but I have to take care of me, I’m not a spring chicken anymore.
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I thought you had to have income to get an income tax refund.
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Kansas has a shortage of decent paying jobs. If you let a guy know you want him to bring his bobcat over to clear brush for a day and you will pay him $500 thats pretty good money here. Most jobs pay $12 an hour. Would you rather make $12 x 8 hrs - taxes or $500 cash? Seems like i pay better. Then the same guy can bring over his heavy equipment and i will pay him couple hundred dollars an hour. Thats likely more than or as much as many people make in a day for an hour. If you had a chance to work for Clark and made a couple grand for a day and a half of your time or some micro manager boss which would you do? Most guys like the money i pay it beats the other options. A good worker with skills just figure is worth $30 an hour + materials or equipment. Heavy equipment is $200 an hour / bobcat is worth $50+. Jobs around here have a guy like that worth $30 paying him $12 as a mechanic. Since inflation is higher, no one has money to hire him so he is stuck in a job beneath him. Im fortunate i have a master degree and lots of skills. A job that dont pay what its worth puts food on my table. We are not doing without anything in my house. Health is the thing that cuts my salary down not skills. Fortunately that means i can hire a guy and it is a win win for us both. I take something like a callery pear that is worthless and graft to it then suddenly i just made $70 by saving $70 and i do it 10x in a day.The price of fruit trees is too expensive .seems to me my value goes up everytime prices go up. I realize i could be growing BET seedlings and selling trees like grandpas for $70 each. I imagine i could graft over a couple hundred seedlings every day even with health being what it is some days. Lets say i had 5 bad days and 2 good days thats 400 trees a week. Seems like a guy like you @BlueBerry with skills might have a pretty lucrative living with inflation being what it is. The people making 5 or 10k on taxes have kids and money just dont go that far nowadays. Seems to me your value is worth more than 5k in a week just by what i know your worth with no government assistance needed by way of taxes.
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Most jobs in KS pay $12/hour? Thats crazy. “Sandwich artists” at a well known sub shop are making $18/hour in many areas in MN. Walmart grocery shoppers right around that same amount.
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Thats about what they got here food places, state jobs, janitorial, lawn care, pest control, gas station attendants, mechanics and such. Im not saying there are no good jobs at factories there are just not many of them. Lets say you make $15 - $30 as one of the better paid people then they drive out a tank of gas and have to buy nice clothes etc. To keep those jobs. These are big cities included but remember i live out in the sticks
State jobs pay $12/hour? Geez. I could make around $20/hour for part time work in the summer from the state just by sitting at area boat launches to make sure people are removing weeds and draining their livewells. I know a couple other old guys who do it. Its about as easy of a gig as you could get. If i wasn’t a libertarian I might jump on that gravy train too.
Edit…^^^$23/hour sounds more like a normal “average” rate of pay
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Thats deceptive when they say average because people think it means an average guy makes $23. Thats not how it works. In kansas there is a huge gap between the rich and poor.
Look at these statistics closely. There are 3 people on average per home https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/KS-Demographics.html
The numbers dont really add up.
There are new laws in effect on jan 1st for federal employees but i know waitresses in a slow restrraunt who have not even made enough to pay their gas driving to work
Kansas Minimum Wage in 2024 | Square’%20minimum%20wage%20rate%20applies,%2420%20in%20tips%20per%20month.
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No, you just need kids!
Without doing any further investigating, KS looks like a good state to leave if you’re young and relatively unskilled
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Lots of the kids go the route of computer training in high school and plan to make a big salary but find out reality is $11 or $12 is a skilled computer sales person
Once they get their certifications and 6 or 7 years of field experience can make $25 an hour if their health is holding up ok from standing on concrete the last 7 years for 40 or 50 hours a week. Then they get a mostly sit down job as a repair tech. No wonder the kids dont love going to work. They get a 3% raise a year.
Clark, the thing most fail to consider is that the $12 per hour in Kansas goes farther than $20 in San Diego or Seattle!
I’d rather make less if it buys the things I need.
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That is a fair point because everything is cheaper here than there. I think @smsmith is indicating they kind of have both if you can tolerate the weather there. Good wages and good cost of living sounds very tempting.
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If one had an underground home so staying warm wasn’t so expensive…then maybe.
But you gotta get out in the cold to work.
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MN certainly isnt for everyone, especially outstate MN (pretty much anywhere outside the 7 county metro).
You certainly can make a living and live a good life in MN however. We know a good number of 20 and 30 somethings who own their own homes and who are doing quite well for themselves. Of course, the tradeoff is that you actually have to go to your place of employment and work 40-60 hours a week.
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Hopefully everyone is working 40-60 hours per week like the rest of us. If they dont work i dont feel sorry for them. If they are elderly or to young or disabled are exceptions ofcourse.
No offense, but I think we all know that nowhere near “everyone” is working 40-60 hours a week
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We know you’re right, but if they are not and can i dont have much tolerance for the dishonest types.
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