The troubling statistics on the homeless in Salt Lake City released this week by the U.S. Conference of Mayors reflect some sobering news about Utah's economy. Even though Utah is producing jobs at a rate above the national average, the wages being paid are not always anything to brag about.
Fully 40 percent of Salt Lake's homeless population are working - something that should be applauded. But instead of leaving the ranks of the homeless, these workers are finding Utah wages can't support their families.Low wages and a willing work force may be attractive to some businesses. But that situation is little comfort to Utah's food banks and other aid groups that are finding a greater demand for assistance than ever before. Demand for meals in Salt Lake City is up 2,500 per month, while requests for emergency shelter have risen between 8 and 12 percent this year. Of those seeking shelter, more than a third - 39 percent - have jobs.
President Clinton and Gov. Leavitt are counting on education and high technology to improve the labor force in the United States and in Utah. What needs to happen, though - at least if Utah's experience is any indication - is that wages produced from those jobs must stay ahead of costs. Teaching children to use computers to improve their grades and their job-marketing skills is a laudable goal, but if all a computer-literate 18-year-old can earn is minimum wage, society has failed. Government will have to look elsewhere for answers to homelessness and welfare.
Could it be that taxes - federal, state and local - are eating up too much of workers' pay? What other barriers to high wages has government erected intentionally or inadvertently? Will the federal government's health plan improve both workers' and businesses' well being?
For many people, the core issue is not jobs themselves but the quality of life provided by their jobs. Certainly for the Utah homeless who already are working, that quality of life has not been realized. Utah has some serious reappraisal to do.