Comments about ‘Affluence abounds in Utah’

In Gods eyes its only EFFLUENCE!

As they said, all the stats in this article are out of date and full of misinformation. Especially when it comes to incomes and jobs and affluence.

How can they make people feel good when these per capita incomes are poverty level incomes? Poverty is no longer is at $5,000 dollars, poverty level's have changed. Poverty is now at just over $30,000 dollars a year. I don't call this affluent incomes. They need to redefine affluence of the 1940's to today's values. However the state is cleverly combing incomes of everyone in a home as "household" incomes to mislead and deceive.

Divide the household income by 3 or 4 and the numbers take on a new meaning. It means the working americans are so poorly paid in Utah that they can't afford to live on their own. Children can't leave home and are returning to parents home because they don't have an income to live on. Comparing Utah to many states we are still one of the lowest paid labor markets in the country.

We have immigrants among us who come from destitute poverty. They are happy to live two to three families per apartment and do the most menial jobs for way below the going rate, just so they can feed their children.

During this time of Christian giving, I hope we can open our Samaritan hearts to these neighbors in need, not just demand their families be torn apart by sending them back where their children will go hungry.

Of course, the anonymous contributors are always right. You can't question their motives or their knowledge, or their integrity or even their anonymity.

Why should we take seriously the research and credentials of well-known researchers just because they are willing to put their names on the information?
Do real business leaders and planners ever take these guys seriously? Do people $pend million$ and take risks just because of a few numbers on paper?

Clearly, the anonymous posters must be right... (sigh).

Not one community in Utah ranks in Americans hundred wealthiest. Kansas and Oklahoma do have communities on this list.

Mitt sold his home in Utah, but he kept his home in La Jolla. Mitt knows Utah has cheap labor, but there are nicer places to live if you have wealth.

Always a bride's maid and never a bride. :-)

And yet Utah still has poverty, homelessness, and hunger. Utahns still object to free school lunches and breakfasts, health care for all, education for immigrants, and the like. We live in a state with more than enough means for everyone to live comfortably, but we have evolved into a me-first society that values high incomes, big houses, fancy cars, and designer clothes over compassion, selflessness, and community. We think if we pay our tithing and a modest fast offering our duty to the poor is done. If we keep this up, I don't imagine we'll continue to be so blessed as we have been.

Yes, Uth is the state with the second highest rate of immigrants and no one seems to acknowledge this fact. We have more poor immigrants coming here than any other state, other than New York City. Why? It all depends on what you choose to believe. Some come here because of the LDS church, some are here because of the Catholic church, and some come here just because there seem to be more job opportunities here.

There are many, many Mexicans here from over the border.

Go down to Horizonte school on Main street people from all over the world.

if you figure an annual health care cost of $14,244 per family (towers perrin 2009 health care cost survey) and subtract from even the most affluent median household incomes, about 15% is spent on health.
in lower income families, the percentage is higher. much higher for some. in south salt lake it's an average of 40% for health care.

Some of the data will of course include everyone. You can't rent a dwelling in most places of the country if it doesn't have plumbing and a stove.

As to the hundred weathiest communities there are 50 states. Some states will have more than 2 weathy communities. Not all states will be represented. Those states on that list will likely have poorer communities as well.

Cost of living counts more than averages of homes and income.

The truth of the matter is almost every community in the US is better off than the median community in most other nations.

#7 Utah: 2.632 per 100 people
#6 Colorado: 3.087 per 100 people
# 5 Illinois: 3.385 per 100 people
# 4 Nevada: 4.183 per 100 people

in the top ten states for bankruptcy because everyone has to keep up with the Jones' (or is that Smith's?)!

Affluence?

Or is it the appearance of affluence?

I know 2 things:

1 - Heber C. Kimball long ago prophesied that many Utah Mormons would get caught up in a spirit of speculation and extravagance that would lead them to financial bondage.

2 - Every time I return to visit my family in the Salt Lake area I see bigger and bigger homes being built all along the Wasatch Front.