Americans are
moving less frequently than they were. The rate of people who moved across a
county line in 2015 was just 4.1 percent, down from 7.7 percent in the
late-1970s. This is preventing rural residents from obtaining better jobs, and it’s
limiting the supply of labor where jobs are plentiful.
Here are key
reasons for the decline of mobility. All are the fault of big government:
·
Large land areas in metropolitan
areas are restricted from development, raising the cost of urban housing and
hurting the poor most.
·
The portion of jobs requiring licenses
has risen five-fold since 1950. More than a fourth of U.S. workers now require a
state license to do their jobs. The licenses provide revenue to the states, but
they raise consumer prices and suppress competition, hurting the poor
most.
·
In the last several decades, the
portion of Americans who agree with the statement, “Most people can be trusted”
has declined significantly. People are losing trust in one another because big
government makes people less likely to take responsibility for their own
actions.
Government impediments prevent Americans
from moving to where the jobs are.
Sent to newspapers
on August 21, 2017.
