PAY: Best is mediocre

Your lead story in Friday’s paper had many holes. Just because you are the highest-paid anything in Idaho doesn’t give you a platform to brag. The fact is, the wages in Idaho are lacking. Idaho, as a whole, ranks 40th in the nation in median income ($48,000). And while 5 percent raises are a step in the right direction, 5 percent in this state is akin to 3 percent in others because the salaries in other states are much higher.

For example, the median income in Washington, our neighbor, is 50 percent higher than in Idaho. That means for every $2 made in Idaho, somebody in Washington is making $3. People in Wyoming make $12,000 more annually than those in Idaho. And for the middle and lower classes, the hourly wages are well below what you can get in Washington. According to a 2016 study by Governing Magazine, an Idahoan’s average hourly wage is $15.96, but in Washington, the hourly wage is more than $20. An hourly paid Washingtonian makes $166.80 more than an Idahoan each week, and nearly $9,000 per year. And by the way, Washingtonians don’t pay state income tax (neither do Wyomingites).

?I think it’s great that Coeur d’Alene is at the head of our great state when it comes to some of these salaries, but let’s not put lipstick on a pig.

RYAN BRONSON

Hayden