When you’re stuck in a massive snowstorm on a Wyoming highway this winter — or when you can’t leave your home for days because the roads are closed — here are a few things to think about while waiting for an underpaid snowplow driver to rescue you.

The Wyoming Legislature put $1.4 billion into savings earlier this year, the largest deposit like that in the state’s history.

Wyoming’s “rainy-day fund” is the richest in the nation, topping $2 billion.

The state’s fiscal picture is bright as the Legislature prepares for its February budget session. Thanks to an uptick in tax revenue from the oil and gas industries, lawmakers will have a $178 million surplus on their hands.

But there’s a reason you’re likely stranded and waiting for the roads to open. The Wyoming Department of Transportation cannot hire enough snowplow drivers to keep up with the weather.

Despite the state’s tremendous wealth, the Wyoming Legislature refuses to provide WYDOT with the resources it needs to pay competitive wages.

Cody Beers, a WYDOT spokesman, told Better Wyoming that 61 of the agency’s 450 full-time snowplow driver positions are vacant going into the 2023-24 winter. On top of that, 31 of 50 temporary driver positions are empty.

Beers said many people with the skills required to drive a snowplow can find better pay in the private sector — especially in the oil and gas industry.

While Wyoming residents may prefer limited government, only scorched-earth anarchists don’t think plowed roads are a public service that people should expect in 2023.

Wyoming has the resources and the wherewithal to keep you from being stranded this winter. Unfortunately, the Legislature prefers to hoard its wealth instead of paying competitive wages to state employees so that you can get to where you need to go.

Tammy Johnson has seen the Legislature fail to adequately pay state workers for years. The executive director of Wyoming AFL-CIO said lawmakers tend to view their job as “cutting corners and saving money” instead of making strategic investments for the state.

“If you want to have qualified, available snowplow drivers, then you need to look at them as an investment in the state,” Johnson said. “If you want to have clear roads, you need to pay the going rate.”

In fact, paying for snow removal is an investment in the state’s economy. Ensuring people and goods can travel safely and efficiently across Wyoming keeps businesses functioning smoothly.

It’s important to the U.S. economy, as well, since Interstate 80 — which is often closed through Wyoming — is one of the nation’s most important shipping corridors.

According to the National Transportation Research Nonprofit, $68 billion in goods move to and from Wyoming each year. But poor travel conditions threaten this industry.

University of Wyoming economist Anne Alexander has pointed to I-80’s closure near Elk Mountain as a considerable problem to commerce. She said keeping it open could have more than a billion-dollar impact.

In addition to trucking and shipping, road closures and dangerous travel hurt other types of business by preventing people from getting to where they need to be during Wyoming’s long winter.

Paying higher wages to snowplow drivers so that WYDOT can more easily attract and retain workers would be a valuable asset for our state.

Some policymakers in Wyoming have recognized that underpaying snowplow drivers hurts both travelers and businesses. But they have done little about it.

Last year, lawmakers increased starting pay for WYDOT snowplow drivers by 83 cents per hour, bringing them up to $18.14 an hour. The average hourly wage for a snowplow driver in the U.S. is $23.57, according to ZipRecruiter, or about $49,000 a year.

Some private companies in Wyoming are advertising up to $30 per hour for snowplow drivers, or about $62,400 a year, making WYDOT wages far below market rate in the state.

When the Legislature convenes, it will have a significant surplus of funds that could address this problem. The state’s residents can see whether lawmakers will do right by state employees and increase snowplow driver pay, or if their stinginess will leave us stranded.

Nate Martin is the executive director of Better Wyoming. He lives in Laramie.

WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.