Long-standing economic hardships have prevented a sizable segment of the South Dakota population from achieving financial stability and prosperity, and those hurdles have resulted in a sense of pessimism for what awaits future generations, according to two experts who study the state economy.
State and federal data routinely show that:
South Dakota employers pay some of the lowest wages in the nation.
A high number of families pay an excessive portion of their income on housing.
The state has a regressive system of taxation.
Many workers are not seeing their pay cover the rising cost of living in the state.