How much money do you make?

Income can be kind of a touchy subject. Sometimes we don't want to talk about how much money we make because we think it's no one else's business. Or we might rather not talk about it because we think we make too little money, or too much money (yes, it happens) for others to know about. We often think people will judge us in some way by the amount of money we bring home every couple of weeks. Whether or not that is entirely true is not important. We think it might be, so we err on the side of caution.

Besides, it really is no one else's business, right?

Nevertheless, the numbers are out there, and when speaking about it in general, countywide terms, it becomes a little less personal. And believe it or not, that total dollar amount, to which everyone who works contributes, does make a difference to everyone around us.

It has to do with increasing our economic base and the general level of prosperity in the area. Efforts to further economic development must invariably look at the numbers to assess the financial character of the place. Agriculture, traditionally the cornerstone of our rural economy, still plays an important role. But it is by no means the only player.

Transfer payments like Medicare and Social Security rose dramatically in the 90s, and in 1997, the wages and salaries category finally eclipsed agriculture as the chief source of income in Miner County.

Today, our annual per capita income, which is the total amount of money made per person in the county, is at $20,654. That's only $400 behind the state average. That's not wonderful news, but it's certainly not bad either. Of course, that's not a trend that can continue. Decreasing population won't always be accompanied by rising total income and per capita income. At some point, they'll both decline.

For now, though, there seems to be a solid base upon which to build the economic future of the county. The question is, "What are we going to do with it?"

Miner Notes was a weekly column written by Matt Laible for MCCR to promote understanding about the place we call home. If you have questions or comments, please contact MCCR by calling 772-5153 or writing to P.O. Box 307 in Howard.