Intellectually, I want to agree with you Grant, but I don't think that

you include everyone in your list.  For one thing, there are plenty of

jobs out here that pay a lot less than $18 an hour.  Second, Peep and

Fishman (and sergikirov if he will come back from the Urals) would

immediately crow about the under-the-table money that the Governor

never sees.  Finally, the categories that I agree with have definitions

that make me hesitate.

Every aspect of wages on Nantucket reflects the cost of housing.  The

worker figures it in on his end when he figures how much he is going to

charge.  The employer figures it in when she offers housing.  Those who

commute for a living figure it in their prices.  The Housing Wage is

not a reasonable metric for Nantucket, but it tells us a lot about the

future.

For discussion, here are the rungs on my ladder for year round

residents.

1. (Employee Housing):  Many of these people are from other lands. 

They work hard at several jobs, then send the money (and any other

perks) home.  These may also include our old employee group, the

college students who are saving some money for school.    If you wanted

to be cold hearted about it, this could also include many former

Whalers who are living with their folks and saving money for school.

I believe these folks are not under the illusion that they will be

raising a family out here.  Instead, they see their home as somewhere

else and Nantucket as a big campus where they work.  Okies, for the

Steinbeck fans.  Note that the town and other major employers who used

to try to hire lifetime workers are now in this business.

These folks came in 2003

2. (Single Shufflers):  These folks have made a lifestyle choice to

come to the island.  They have a decent job, nice friends, and a

pastime that works in well with the island, whether it be horse-riding,

surfing, kite-boarding or painting.  Their pastime helps make Nantucket

a home for them.  They are willing to work and rent without savings as

long as the waves are good.

I feel that this is a group that may or may not continue to be around. 

While there are a lot of winter rentals on the market right now, the

advertised price for them is steep.  If a landlord needs the money

enough to rent to four guys with surfboards in the back of the pick-up

and Chicken Box cards in their wallets, well and good.  In the recent

past, I think the groovin' bachelor pads have been leaving the housing

scene.

These folks came in the summer of 2000-2003.

3. (Married Shufflers).  These folks are waiting for a miracle.  They

have nice jobs and seem to be making money, but they aren't saving what

they need in order to make the downpayment.  They have kids, want kids,

or are avoiding the thoughts.  They are in the year round apartment or

they are doing the shuffle and they wait, hoping for the housing bubble

to pop.

These folks want to stay.  Their employers want them to stay, but can't

pay them what they need.  The Summer Cocktail Crowd thinks of them in

the abstract.  But they came to the island five to ten years too late. 

Rob Norton, former English Teacher, fit neatly into this group.  And he

is in Amherst now.

Because the cash can't be declared and shouldn't make up a meaningful

part of a downpayment, the under the table money doesn't really help

here.

These folks came in the summers of 1999-2003.

4. (Living with the Folks):  Here are your recent Whalers.  If they

didn't go to college, or just graduated school, they could be back with

the folks.   This may not be an ideal arrangement for the parents, but

it allows the kids to bank all of the money they would be paying in

rent, assuming the parents own.  As a result, they can live like the

Single Shufflers, while still having hope of starting a family out

here.  In addition, their folks may have undeveloped land out there for

use.

These folks have got a leg up on the single and married shufflers, but

only a leg.  They still need to be paid enough money to afford the

mortgage and the downpayment.  The folks with Employee Housing put a

crimp on the Whalers because they expand the labor pool and put a drag

on wage increases.

5. (Jonesing the Mortgage)  These folks bought in the last five years

and are working like dogs.  If both people work, they use the illegal

apartment in the basement all winter and they rent the house out in the

summer, they can make the mortgage with a little left over.  The credit

cards might be maxed and Christmas might be lean, but as long as work

holds out and they can rent the apartment out, everything will be fine.

  They are keenly aware of how much the neighbor's house sold for and

who bought a beautiful house in Reading for cash.

And these are the folks that really, really, really need that under the

table money.

Arrived in 1997

6. (Got in.)  These folks write the mortgage check quickly and without

hesitation.  They bought the land for under a hundred thousand or they

bought the house for one third  of what it is worth now.  They know how

lucky they are.  They have good jobs, families, and some room on the

credit cards.  Maybe they go on vacation.  Maybe someone can stay home

with the kids.  Barring a catastrophe in terms of jobs, bills, or

divorce, they are doing well.

However, they are aware of quality of life issues.  If Nantucket stops

being worth the trouble, the woods of Vermont and New Hampshire are

calling.

These folks bought by 1996. (I admit, it's a guess)

7. (Been Here) These folks own the house and have stayed here long

enough to have well-paying jobs, be it in plumbing, real estate, or

rubbish removal.  I would put the Working Rich into this category, as

well as the retired on fixed incomes.  They worry about other bills,

but the mortgage.  Probably, there is a an ivory button on the

staircase.

I think this may be Nantucket's silent majority.  When I look around at

Town Meeting, these are the folks with their hands up. However, not

many people can enter this group.

Like the previous group, these folks are worried about quality of life

issues, including the increase in other bills.

These folks arrived prior to 1991

8. (Plutocrats)  These folks could live almost anywhere, but they

choose to spend most of the time on Nantucket.  They have money and

investments from off-island and they do not need to work.  If they do

work, they work for personal reasons.  The Accountant or the Trustee

worries about the bills.

I think that this group, while still small, has been increasing.

**************************

Obviously, there are arguments to be made here.  If I were to group

this list more in terms of more standard class numbers, I would put the

island's poor in the first three categories and leave the Whalers

outside the mix, the middle class as the fifth group, and the rich as

the last three.  The last three are living on lottery tickets, so they

may not have a lot of cash on hand, but they have capital that could be

put to use.

I would put the commuting workforce up with the Employee Housing.  The

money is made here and moves off-island (with an occasional stop for a

sandwich.)

The rungs of the ladder spread out in the middle.  I feel that the

first and last categories are increasing, while the middle six are

decreasing.  The cost of owning a three bedroom family house on

Nantucket has been considerable for a while.  Those that have that

housing and are willing to rent, need (or want) to ask a high rent.  As

a result, it is a big gap between the Employee Housing and renters,

then it is a huge gap between the renters and the owners jonesing for

the mortgage.  The rest of the group may think about, but don't worry

about the mortgage.  The Plutocrats are on a different planet.

When I worry about the future of year round Nantucket, I worry about

the three middle categories (3,4,5).  If Nantucket's economy continues

to drift through the doldrums, then these are the people who will be

hurt.  If these people leave the island's workforce, then the island

has to rely more and more on imported or surfing labor.  Neither

workforce would make great teachers, doctors, nurses, or firefighters. 

However, the town is gearing up for this switch over to indentured

servitude.

To be fair, I don't think the town or private employers have much

choice here.  Nantucket is at the end of the economic whip..  Unless

there is a mass of foreclosures, as there were in the early nineties,

house prices aren't going to drop all that much. There are still enough

people off-island to buy property at a more reasonable price.