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Joplin weathered the worst tornado in modern history. Now it appears it is weathering one of the worst economic droughts since the Great Depression.
In a story on today’s front page, we report that Joplin is being recognized for the improvements it has made in reducing unemployment. We now have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation. Even better, not all of that has come about because of tornado recovery jobs.
Joplin’s unemployment rate in June at 6.1 percent is better than the 6.6 percent reported in May 2011, before the tornado. Now we are seeing jobs being added that have nothing to do with rebuilding. We see companies coming to Joplin and hiring. We see companies making long-term investments in our town. We even see companies that are handing out raises to their employees.
Another key indicator that bodes favorable for Joplin’s recovery and the well-being of your household is the uptick in sales tax money being collected. Sales tax revenues for the city of Joplin are up nearly 10 percent. Much like the area’s job market, tornado recovery is prominent, but it alone may not be responsible for all of that increase. Neighboring cities are seeing increases and promising signs that business is improving.
That’s not to say that local governments shouldn’t continue watching taxpayers’ money closely and being good stewards. We do think, though, that it’s encouraging that some city employees are seeing raises again. It’s a sign that raises are cycling into the paychecks of those who work in the private sector.
As they say, what goes around comes around. In Joplin’s case, these two key indictors bode well for our area.
Opinion
Our View: Put that in your pocket
- Opinion
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Our View: Spying on us
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
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Our View: Pass on the legacy
Forty hungry members of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry began gathering corn at the Rader farm near the village of Sherwood when they were ambushed by a guerrilla band of about 70 Southern sympathizers.
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Our View: Big Brother looms large
The federal government, working under the cloak of secrecy, has been having a heyday at the expense of all Americans.
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Our View: Disgraceful military assault
We want to make one thing clear: A sexual assault is not a sex scandal. Nor can the rise in sexual assaults in the military be justified in any way.
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Elliott Denniston, guest columnist: Right-to-work laws only hurt workers
Middle-class workers have been fighting an uphill battle for the past 30 years.
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Your View: Food drive efforts
Branch No. 366 of the National Association of Letter Carriers along with the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, the American Postal Workers Union and the U.S. Postal Service would like to thank all the area communities that participated in the 2013 Stamp Out Hunger food drive.
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Your View: More about tax credit
The Globe’s editorial in “Our View” (May 10) may have left readers with a few inaccurate impressions.
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Other Views: Sickening disparity
Don’t feel bad if you don’t understand the wide, sometimes huge, discrepancies in fees hospitals charge for the same procedure. Or if you don’t understand the arithmetical magic the hospitals use to arrive at those fees.
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Carol Stark: America in need of more 'momisms'
Several years ago, I attended a writing workshop where one of the sessions was called “Tell it to Mom.”
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Our View: Keep learning
Donna Maus, a biology teacher from St. Mary’s Colgan High School in Pittsburg, Kan., told a group of top students, their parents and their teachers something we think everyone needs to hear.
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