The Road Not Taken

The ability of workers to move for jobs, both inside a country and out, promotes business flexibility, the best use of skills and individual prosperity. But home ownership and a lack of universal health insurance have reduced mobility in the US, reports the Economist. People typically escape bad circumstances by moving to new locations, but Americans are trapped in overpriced homes and fear changing jobs and losing health insurance. High rates of home-ownership correlate with high unemployment rates, even more so than tax rates or employment law, and British researcher Andrew Oswald has urged governments to stop subsidizing home ownership. Government incentives on home ownership and job-related health care impose high costs, forcing people to stick with despised jobs and even unhappy marriages. Staunching worker migration limits the quest for opportunity. – YaleGlobal