Millionaire Acres or Countryside Estates?

Tell me you have not thought about whether you would be one of the lucky ones to retire to Millionaire Acres or Countryside Estates. What in the world am I referring to you might ask, The Game of Life by Milton Bradley Company of course. With gasoline prices as they are today, cost continuing to rise in the grocery aisle, and employment numbers steadily sliding, our real life game of life has been hitting some potholes.

The original game, created by Milton Bradley in 1861, looked much like the game that most of us are familiar with now. Over the years, the convertible cars that moved around the 3-D board became minivan stereotypes and the dollar values doubled trying to keep up with the rate of inflation I suppose! A decision waits early on in the game of whether to go straight to the work force or attend college. Players still need insurance policies, promissory notes, and add little blue or pink pegs as they drive through life. The very latest versions include home resale, more initial college debt, "summer jobs", and the travel agent career was replaced with a computer technician.

Okay, now that we know all about The Game of Life, what does this have to do with turbulent times in Marshall? The town seems to have been stuck in a time warp, unlike Milton Bradley's version. Starting January 1, 2008, Missouri's minimum wage increased to $6.65 per hour, $13,832 annually for the average worker who puts in 2,080 hours or $1,152.66 per month BEFORE Uncle Sam gets a portion.

According to the Missouri Census Data Center's (MCDC) demographic profile published in 2000, Marshall's per capita income was $16,583 or $1,381.92 per month. Just for grins, we will use this income for calculating our "month left at the end of the money."

Our basic needs are housing, utilities, food, transportation, and healthcare. I am no doubt forgetting something in the estimation but again, we will use the basics. The average monthly housing rental cost reported in 2000 was $417.00, the U.S. average monthly cost for an individual's grocery expense in 2000 was $118.00 as reported by the USDA, $100.00 for utilities, healthcare accumulated to $221.00, and transportation averaged around $90.00 monthly. If my mathematical skills are correct, that left the average single person around $400.00 for other monthly expenses. These are figures from eight years ago and very conservative in my opinion.

The bottom line is this, inflation is kicking the air right out of our tires, and finishing The Game of Life is becoming more challenging by the barrel full. It appears that the average employee can only pay for one gallon of milk after a half-hour of work. Throw in a gallon of gas and there is your first hour.

Every year Marshall High School and the surrounding towns send hundreds of graduates into the work force or to college campuses. Young people are becoming more educated and career oriented than my or older generations ever were. Two income households are becoming the standard and still families struggle. Economic statistics are not for the faint at heart.

I cannot help but think this merry-go-round will continue to spin long after I am gone. Business owners find themselves paying higher wages to keep employees. Employees watch their paychecks go out the door for necessary, not excessive items. When businesses can no longer afford the wages because of declined sales, they close their doors. We want to keep our citizens and young people in the community so that expansion and economic growth occur but $6.00 an hour jobs and shopping down the road will not promote growth.

Give good thought to all of the family owned local businesses within Marshall. Think about the generations that have chose to remain in Marshall to make a living. I believe the first tenant in our industrial park was a local family owned business and another local business is relocating there now. As a parent of a child that will be making some big "grown-up" decisions within the next few years, I would be thrilled if he chose to become an entrepreneur in Marshall. We are going to be in immediate need of dental and chiropractic care. Let us get a viable business community working together to accomplish things that are good for the city and good for ourselves.