by kublikhan » Sun 10 Feb 2013, 02:23:36
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SamInNebraska', '1')0,000's of help wanted ads in North Dakota, MILLIONS of unemployed Americans. "Droves" apparently means.....not all that many in the scheme of things. Or Americans are just waiting for their unemployment to run out prior to actually considering real work.
No. "Droves" apparently means: So many people showing up that the local infrastructure is completely overwhelmed. There's not enough housing. Emergency services are overloaded. Same with electrical, sewage, water, etc. I know this doesn't fit well with your "all unemployed people = lazy shiftless bums" philosophy but that's life. It is often more complicated than fortune cookie wisdom and shoeboxing people into stereotypes. Sometimes slowing down and letting infrastructure catch up is the right call.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he gravel road that borders Dave Hynek’s North Dakota farm is designed to carry 10 tractor- trailer trucks a day. In a recent 24-hour period, about 800 passed by.
The oil boom fueling the nation’s lowest unemployment rate also has a dark side. It’s pushing rural North Dakota’s housing, electric, water, police and emergency services to the breaking point. “It’s absolutely destroying our infrastructure,” said Hynek, a Mountrail County commissioner.
‘Now It’s Dangerous’“There were three rapes here last summer -- that’s in a town with one assault in its history,” said Cory Rice, who bought the restaurant from his grandparents. “It used to be a quiet community. Now it’s dangerous.” “Do we risk getting injured and stay here and make money? Or do we go back home and do with less and be safe?”
The state’s three-year-old boom, which attracted thousands of workers to 17 western counties, is progressing so quickly that studies commissioned to determine infrastructure needs are outdated the moment they leave the printer.‘Population Explosion’“It’s almost an unmanageable population explosion,” said Vicky Steiner, a Republican state legislator. Williams and Mountrail counties recently banned construction of “man camps” -- temporary developments for oil workers -- until they can expand sewer, electrical and water systems.
The move put pressure on an already tight housing market, where rents for a two-bedroom without utilities skyrocketed from $350 a month to $2,000. Some workers report paying $4,000 a month for a three-bedroom apartment in Williston.
“Economic opportunity brings growing pains and changes to a very rural area that hasn’t seen significant economic opportunity for decades,” Ness said.
“It’s difficult, certainly, for any of us to keep up with the pace at which people are moving here.”“We have 800 wells -- they tell me there’s going to be 6,000 more in five years,” Hynek said. “It scares the hell out of me. They say you’d better get prepared for 50,000 more people.”