OPINION: Left's magic makes Montana jobs disappear

“Wages lowest in the nation,” screamed the headline in the Daily Inter Lake a few weeks ago. In most places such news would be greeted with dismay and quick actions to improve the situation for working people. Not in Montana. And why? Because the liberal base of this state just doesn’t care. Have you heard Gov. Bullock say anything about it ever?

It’s no denying that liberals are in control of our government on a statewide basis. The current legislative session confirms this as the “responsible Republicans” have joined forces with the Democrats to ensure our state remains mired in old political policies that have been tried unsuccessfully the last 40 years. We have been led by extremely liberal governors this last decade or more and yet the job prospects in Montana remain dismal. But, the Democratic Party, led by extremists who continue to promote making Western Montana a giant preserve no matter what the cost to the working middle class, promotes and supports these low wages. They just won’t admit it.

Education, which has always sided with the far left, supports the anti-job policies of this administration as well. And no wonder. They have always received generous outlays of money far exceeding that of any other group. Starting salaries for educators are above the average wage of the typical Montanan. So why should they care that wages in Montana are at the bottom of the nation.

Have there been any proposals at the Legislature designed to produce good paying jobs and or wage growth? Will the left ever embrace any new approaches to governing our state such as Jennifer Fielder proposed — having Montana run their own land instead of the federal government? Of course not. To assuage their guilt feelings the left promotes welfare policies. In reality these are just “feel good” measures that help the left strut away from the legislative session feeling good about themselves instead of making any real progress to help the middle and lower income classes of our state.

 The Medicaid debacle clearly underscores this practice. Even church pastors supported this proposal and for much of the same reason. It makes no matter to them whether or not the federal government can afford to pay Montana for this program, nor does it matter to them how much this will cost Montanans in the future when the federal government says it won’t or can’t afford it any more. It is more important to have the “feel good” policy in force. 

The only growth these policies promote is people moving into our state to collect these benefits because we are so liberal in giving them out. Ever notice these people in our grocery lines and wonder about it?

 Make no mistake about it. Governmental welfare programs are no substitute for good paying jobs in our state. No matter how good liberals feel about welfare, low wages are a result of their political policies. Democrats, whether they want to believe it or not, are the party that is anti-job and anti-wage growth in our state.

Actually wages in Montana in the 1920s and1930s were in the top 10 in the nation when we had natural resource jobs. Today, we still have tremendous natural resources that can be utilized in a careful and responsible manner. But no matter, we must give homage to the left’s “natural environment” agenda no matter the cost. Do not touch any of that. It might offend one of the left’s rich liberal supporters who contribute so much to the political coffers of the far-left political machine. 

They always bring up the “devastation” of the land in that day which they use as an excuse to eliminate any natural resource jobs they can. It makes no difference that we can do it safely today. They remain anti-logging, anti-coal, anti-gas-and-oil-production and anti-mining. Or in other words anti-anything that produces good paying jobs. 

They tout tourism and the amount of money it brings into our state. However, they conveniently ignore the fact that tourism, generally speaking, only produces low-wage jobs that have low opportunity for the future. Nor do they investigate the amount of money it takes for the unemployment, food stamps and other “give-aways” these employees collect in the off-season as they ski, hunt, hike and fish. And now they get the reward of Medicaid to boot!

After all these years it is hard to watch the game the left plays. Make sure there are few good paying jobs and then cry about the poverty created by their anti-job agenda followed by cries for increased taxes to support the “poor people” their policies inevitably produce. 

Low wages? It is a direct result of the policies of the liberals and the Democrats that support them. Until Montanans elect political leaders who truly care about the wages of the middle and lower classes we will remain mired at the low end of the wage spectrum in our country. 

 Agather is a resident of Kalispell.