Kalispell Montana Depression 

I used to live in Kalispell and the two biggest problems with that area are one, if it not about whoring the place out to tourist that business doesn't survive. And two too many damn liberals killing the timber and mining industries that actually supported the state.

when i left kalispell in 2001. none of those big stores by the college were even there. actually they were trying to keep all of the out. its a beautiful place though.

I'm from Canada we have a place called Newfounland which is similar to this Montana town. the people here must face reality, just like the Irish and others did in times past. At least you don't need a visa or a passport and your welcome in 49 other states. And if you got to be in Montana ,Go to school out of state and come back and get a job in your field , But face the facts a blue collar way of life is not going to happen at home. You speak english you got an SSN card go find your nich in another state for now, we will be happy to have you aboard and we would love to meet you and learn about you and your Montana.

I walked out of TeleTech one day and a week later, I was working in the North Dakota oil fields making $28 an hour. Quitting that crappy job was the best thing I've ever done. Nothing like working in an internment camp...

I fell in love with Kalispell when I was there in the 90s. Lake Flathead is beautiful and love that there is skiing. It's so sad to see the state it is in. 3 yrs later, has there been any improvement?

this makes kalispell look way worse than it was at the time. i have always had a job since i was 16. always. its not that hard to find work there. show the positive sides of the town more.

Stress? My kids worked there as teenagers and they did fine. Get used to it life is challenging.Your just going to have to suck it up like the rest of us until the economy gets better. If Teletec unionized it would eventually shut down due to lack of competitiveness and be outsourced to India. Then everyone there would loose their job.

I've been living in the Kalispell area since about 2003 and worked for Plum Creek and went to CFAC until it shut down in 2009. At 14.7% unemployment at the time we moved down south for a year and moved back to Kalispell in 2011 so our kids will have a decent childhood. Right now I am getting ready to work for BNSF who has been pushing hard for new people the last year, (400+ hired last summer) We also have CFAC which may get a 4.5 year contract to run starting this spring. Keep trying all!

Big corporate businesses aren't responsible for mom and pop shops closing - the consumer is.. the consumer chooses to shop where they want. That is called free market

These kind of videos are what you do best John. This is why I started watching when you were back in Florida. I hope your staying warm. Mike in Denver.

Very good video. I have documented some of the collapse here in Vegas over the last couple years. I had to go and work up in ND and you are correct, many people working in the oilfields are coming from the Montana/Idaho region. I didn't realize that Montana had been hit so hard by the coming depression. Thanks for the info!

I think you are funny saying back then in 2012 that the cost of living pay should be 11 to 12 dollars an hour, when I work at Kalispell Regional Medical Center i made around 10 dollars an hour and was making enough money to save. The cost of living in Montana is way less than other states.

In my opinion the economy is booming in kalispell right now wtf. Especially Whitefish or any business that has to do with tourism

Hi, I enjoy your vids, got a question for you: How did come to select Kalispell as a location to move to? What motivated you to move there? Why move to an area that is (presumably) worse than Tampa Bay? Thanks.

@US772 Yes, they receive health insurance, but at what cost? What amount of stress do they have to deal with in order to receive their "benefits"?

@Sinni I'm sorry to hear that. What type of work have you been doing since you closed your store?

Let me tell you, this guy needs to take a course in Economics. Wages are directly influenced by supply and demand. Wages always seek the real bottom. If people are WILLing to work for $5 bucks an an hour then that is what the employers will pay. When I was traveling in Montana many years ago, that is what I liked about Montana. All businesses were locally owned. For the MMOST part they were locally owned. EVERYONE should FIGHT the "Big Box Oligarchs". they RUIN every where they go. Of course if they sell a roll of UF Cable 50 Cents less than the local guy people will by it from a horrible place like Home Depot. But these stores come in, then they put 15 LOCAL MERchants out of business. People should do everything possible to keep the Oligarchs out. But HOW to do that is the question. But I have been to Kalispell and Missolua and a number of places there and on up in to Alberta and beyond. It is great country but the Oligarchs have wrecked that place too, BB

You should investigate the EPA trying to destroy the lumber industry in the Flathead.

How did you post this in June and there be snow on the ground?

great post john. do you live in kalispell?

Kalispell is my hometown and this is depressing. The economy up there is why I no longer live there.

Being a former Kalispell resident I found your video interesting but truly misguided and with all due respect, downright ignorant.While I am not pro corporation, I don't blame them for driving out small business. It is the local government that issued these chain stores building permits and business liscense.Towns like Kalispell need to draw on their streangths rather than try to build a consermer based econom. Bottom line is that work in Kalispell is seasonal, therefore the economy is seasonal

I was finally forced to leave my Montana to come here to Nebraska, just to find work. Lost my home, my business, then a job, before I had to move. Now, I have work, at a reasonable wage, in Nebraska. I hope that I can return to Montana (my childhood home), once the economy gets stable again, in the Big Sky Country.

How long ago did you move from Columbia Falls?

@Sinni Thank you for your comment. What type of business did you have? Take care, John

Good video. One thing to add and not trying to argue with you, but my a good old family friend who was a downtown retail business owner once told me the people like himself were responsible for the box stores taking over. His reason for saying this was because the guys like himself closed early on Saturdays, closed on Sundays and never stayed open later than 6-7 pm. The box stores stayed open all the time. Just the opinion of one old guy I know.

This guy doesn't know what he is talking about. The large store at the beginning is for sale because the original people switched store locations because they were only using half the space, the payless shoe store closed because there was two others and it's montana, we don't need three. Kalispell is actually growing and expanding. It's facing problems like anywhere else but not as bad. This is Montana, less people means we live simpler lifes.

I travel through Kalispell, and throughout Montana on a regular basis. What I don't understand is -- there are literally hundreds of new and newer high-end homes in most, if not all larger towns in Montana. So, naturally, the question is -- who is buying all these houses, and where do THEY work? They obviously have tons of money. Another question is -- the video poster (and many others) seems to have the attitude that they should be handed a job. Where does this attitude come from? If you want a better job than what is available in your location, then move to another location. The poster mentioned that he had only been in Kalispell for about 6 months at the time of the video. Why would you move to a place that had a bad economy? In regard to large corporations, I think that the majority of Americans would agree that large corporations have too much power. But, one thing that everyone should understand, if they don't already, is that the ONE and ONLY source of a corporation's power is the government. Yes, I said the government. The only reason a corporation exists is because the state government gives them a charter that says they exist. Without government authorization, a corporation would not exist. Governments have the authority to put whatever conditions they want on the issuance of a corporate charter. In fact, if you do some research, you will find that in the distant past, governments DID put conditions on charters, such as, for example, that the corporation had to donate a certain part of profits of some sort of public work, or that the corp. had to build a school, or a library, etc. etc. So, the bottom line is that all corporations in America are doing what they are doing because the state government gave them a right to do it. Another thing for the poster to think about and others, is that immigrants are literally pouring into this country every day, and will continue to do so. In fact, if you look it up, you will find that the U.S. is highest on the list for a desired immigration destination in the world. Why? Because everyone in the world (except apparently most Americans) knows that America offers the best and greatest opportunity for work in the whole world. And, I don't see any immigrants complaining about not having work to do. That seems kind of weird when juxtaposed against a video like this one. So many questions, so few answers.

She never worked at Teletech, she just told me about a Teletech near a food bank. She is actually from Bigfork, MT.

I thought that you had disappeared. Great that you are back.

Big box retailers did not put the smaller ones out of business. It is the customers who shop at the big box that did it. Show me any business that has no customers and yet stays in business. The people/customers made a choice to shop where they wanted. Big box didn't shove a gun to small business and say close your doors. Big Box didn't hold a gun to the customer and say, "You have to buy from us."

We have malls that are empty here. Three of them now closed one turned into a smaller shopping center, and one being turned into a shopping outlet and another that is vacant in a slum neighborhood. The two have been closed over a decade. The one in Randall Park they are just letting sit there. Too much money to knock it down. So they are just waiting the bank that is until the city gives them the money to knock it down, or the city will claim it by eminent domain. Then they will knock it down with money they get trickled down to them from the federal government. There is also a mall out by Akron,Ohio that is vacant that also needs to be knocked down. You go to any plaza or mall here in Northeastern Ohio. Half the stores are gone. Literally. Half the small businesses and small shopping chains are gone. That means all that is left are the big box stores and about a quarter them have closed. The wages here are actually lower than Kalispell. Most people here make 8 to 8.50 an hour. Rent here is 500 to 1000 dollars, but the taxes that take out of a persons check is ridiculous. Property taxes here are the highest in the country.

@EconCat88 Thank you very much. I'm doing the best I can despite this damn depression! Thank you for your support and take care. Sincerely, John

I used to live in Kalispell.

Answering my questions with a question? *sigh* I think what would help not just Kalispell, but the whole country, would be to fire every career politician in Washington for lining their own pockets and those of the lobbyists. This particular president has done NO favors for small businesses, rather punished them into bankruptcy with more and more regulations and taxes. Spending our tax dollars on such ridiculous waste is killing our country. Flat tax, no loop holes. Will you answer mine now?

You said "not alot of job opportunities here, folks"....how does that warrant a negative video about Kalispell? Kalispell doesn't sound any different than any other city right now, in a state of depression. Why the hate?

@TattereDX So at 84 hours a week, overtime included beyond 40 hours, making 1800, so they are paying you 8 bucks an hour?

I'm not a fan of big corporate businesses, especially when they take from the mom&pop stores in an area. However, what on earth do you think will happen if say, Walmart in Kalispell closed that employs so many? Where do they go? So you want it to collapse. What happens to those who depend on that wage?

John, is Kalispell doing any better.......or getting worse......I'm near Missoula, MT!

@Josephdivemontana I appreciate the video idea. When I get down that way again I'll shoot some footage and see what I can put together.

I didn't say that. What I said was, my husband works in Kalispell and makes good money but it depends on your skill set. If the area doesn't offer what you need, you need to where you can work. Kalispell DOES have jobs, maybe just not what you need or want. If the job you want or need is in N Dakota, move there, that's what I said and meant. Things are tough all over, I don't enjoy being away from my husband but we do what we must.

Some of the things that happened to us while we lived in Montana for 3+ years. Slashed tires. Damaged windshield. Broke into our car, smashed the console. Broke into our house, even though we lived across the street from the sheriffs department (I found out much later that it was a sheriff that was breaking into our house). Dumped garbage in our driveway. Multiple neighbors took their dogs to crap in our yard at midnight. Killed our pets. And that is just the start. Do NOT move to Montana.

John, I will tell you what the problem is. Cleveland,Ohio is in the same shape. We used to have an industrial area called the flats. Businesses like the ones you talk about have killed the American Industrial occupation.

Thanks for the insights. I work at TeleTech and I also know people who also love their jobs there but of course, it's not for everyone. There's also the other side of the story. :)

@planetcave You should check out the book called "Participating in Nature", it covers primitive living skills, I read it and found it to be very educational. It's on Amazon. By the way, thank you for all your comments. Take care, John

@HansBooBee Thank you very much. It's a clip from the Platoon movie soundtrack.

I wouldn't mind doing a little work in the stock room and load up on what I need for delivery but sales is out of the question. So is changing the oil and changing the radiator fluid. Some delivery companies are requiring drivers to do maintanance on their vehicles.I don't mean dropping the vehicles off at the repair shop I mean doing some of the actual work on them. Again I say would a mechanic enjoy being a courier or vice versa? There is no reason that people can't do their perspective jobs.

Great work as always. Hope all is well with you there.

@drmarthacastro Thank you very much for your support. It's greatly appreciated! Sincerely, John

Interesting...some really nice commercial buildings there.

@Josephdivemontana What other points in the video do you not agree with?

John, do you live in Kalispell?

@hobo59 I agree with you that things are going to get very, very bad. Thank you for watching the video and for your comments. Please forward the video to your contacts. Take care, John

@Holmes1313 Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Do you live in the area? Take care, John

@DoeBoy999 Thank you for your comment. I agree with you completely. Take care, John

Many of the jobs that are available are crappy. For example I was looking through the classifieds and Napa auto had an add. It was for a courier. I read the details and they expected the couriers to be knowledgeable about autoparts and to suggest parts for repair. WTF, do they mean mechanics? They also expected the courier to pitch sales and to make note of what was in the store or place of business that they were delivering too. Shoudn't they have a sales person do that?

@Holmes1313 Where is the Congress going to be held?

@krl8814 Thank you very much for your comment. I was very happy with the way the video turned out as far as the editing of it. Take care, John

@Sinni Have you read much about primitive/sustainable living skills?

@Budguy68 Thank you for your comment. We can't agree on everything. Take care, John :o)

What's your answer for Kalispell?

I was about to move up here, but after seeing this, and other stories about how Kalispell's economy is in the dumpster, it really makes me want to check out Utah.

What did your girlfriend have to say about her work experience at TeleTech?

How did you like it?

@johnu78 It's called Adagio for Strings, composed by Samuel Barber.

@Populist1488 Thank you for your comment. I wish you the best! Sincerely, John

@Holmes1313 After I read your last post I did a search on it. I wish I had known about it sooner I would have done a video about it. Thank you again though for bringing it to my attention. Take care, John

@US772 Who's to say that Teletech won't shut down anyway?

How many adult males from Flathead County are working in North Dakota because they can't find jobs in the Flathead? 2,000? 3,000? 4,000? I stand by my claim of "not alot of job opportunities here, folks". There is no hate, only truth. If you don't like the video then don't watch it.

The sad thing is that kalispell has so much potential

@US772 The best thing that could happen to Teletech is for the employees to unionize there. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) would be more than happy to help the employees there with that.

This is where my ex-girlfriend lives. The food bank near Teletech, she told me about that place. I got to get a first hand look at it.

Where do we move to?

I sincerely hope your situation improves. Take care, John

"Some type of renewal" you mean taxpayer subsidies? Been there 6 months.. LMAO its Montana you dope!

@MISTY1770 Who are at the heads of the banks?

This video was posted January 23, 2012. For some reason youtube put a different date on it. Thanks for watching! Sincerely, John

@mja2035 Thank you very much for your support. Sincerely, John

So you'd agree that there aren't jobs in Kalispell?

@TattereDX Thank you for your comments. Sincerely, John

I miss it there in some ways, had to leave to California due to no jobs(and no social safety nets to speak of)after a mass layoff... Played many live shows there too;)

@boat6868 Thank you. I had other footage of vacant commercial properties but I didn't include it because I wanted to keep the video under 10 minutes long.

@jimbobubbadj Thank you for your comments. Take care, John

It is time to buy! Move to places where nobody wants to! That is why I live in WV...

The Depression has hit nearly every town in every state in the country. Thanks for watching and take care. Sincerely, John

I live in SW MT and its the same here, however, my husband lives most of the year in Kalispell where he found a good job. I guess it depends on what your skill set is. By the way, $9.75 is a great starting wage. I know plenty in Bozeman who make minimum wage, WAY under $9.75. You just do what you gotta do and be grateful for a job.

John, do you see a homeless veteran problem in your new town. Here in Santa Monica, the VA says the homeless veteran population is going down, but I don't see it. It seems like every day outside my condo complex I'm giving clothes to a lot of new homeless veteran ( I ask to see their VA cards). I have a feeling the VA considers their huge prison-like human warehouses filled with mats & cot as "Housing"....IT IS NOT.

@Sinni That's cool. I'm glad to hear that position is going well for you. Have you ever thought of starting another business here?

@HansBooBee They don't have any of those here.

Well son, you should have done this video 30 years ago. 30 years ago there were no jobs to speak of. You could work for a lumber mill or a gas station, bar, the,aluminum plant or as a logger. That was it. Then the town started to boom with the larger stores coming in. Yes it closed down some of the smaller stores because they couldn't keep the prices down, but instead of employing 4 people the bigger stores employed much larger numbers. This brought on a housing boom. You have more to learn.

I can see how that would bring a guy down. Seems to be the case everywhere.

This economic situation of deterioration has barely even started - what happens when its so bad that the US gov stops paying its bills, like SS, and the food banks are empty? I hate to see the slow death of the nation. If there were any mercy in nature then a nuke or something else would take us out quickly. Anything is better than seeing millions and millions slowly starve to death.

John this is one of your best video you have done. I here the strain in your voice. That is the biggest food bank sign I have ever seen. Those big box stores parking lots look empty looks like people can not afford to even shop there now, Corporate America will crash the people 1st that is what I am preparing for. are there any houses for 5 or 10 k. If you were jobless, homeless with no family or friends would it be better to live in a place like phoenix LA or Las Vegas.

@MISTY1770 What are you talking about?

Hello people, I am Russian and I living in Russia now, I have to say to you something. I feel really sorry , for the economic situation in USA now, and not only that. Intentions of America dominate on a other countries, make scary it`s own people.I had a big dream in past times to move to US , but now I have to think about this twice. People, why nobody talks about your police country?Why nobody stands up and say about injustice against people??America was like a dream for a people 20 years ago, and now, Kalispell,Detroit and so on ->, what is happend with you?You must struggle for your rights, You are billions all, and they are only crowd idiots in a white house, that steal your money and your future.If you choose Hillary Clinton, she finally will collapse your country and civil war will start. I like USA, there are a lot of nature and interesting culture, wish you to be prosperity.!!!

Good job John. I think I'm going to try and create a channel and post videos like this. If they're available.

That's quite a bit of empty space for that city.

@TheChuck624 Thank you for your comment.

@flbriefboi Thank you for your watching. Take care, John

Why don't you OWS types protest at the foot of Washington in stead of complain about the rich and corporations. The politicians in Washington make the laws that Corporations abide by. Go to the source of the problem and people will take you seriously. Protest corporate lobbing while your at it. I know some people that work at Teletec. They received good health insurance there. Do you really think the Mom and Pop stores are going to give out $400.00/ month health insurance?