“Struggling Americans Once Sought Greener Pastures—Now They’re Stuck”

“Struggling Americans Once Sought Greener Pastures—Now They’re Stuck,” by Adamy and Paul Overberg, Wall Street Journal

“When opportunity dwindles, a natural response—the traditional American instinct—is to strike out for greener pastures. Migrations of the young, ambitious and able-bodied prompted the Dust Bowl exodus to California in the 1930s and the reverse migration of blacks from Northern cities to the South starting in the 1980s. Yet the overall mobility of the U.S. population is at its lowest level since measurements were first taken at the end of World War II, falling by almost half since its most recent peak in 1985. . . . For many rural residents across the country with low incomes, government aid programs such as Medicaid, which has benefits that vary by state, can provide a disincentive to leave. . . . Another obstacle to mobility is the growth of state-level job-licensing requirements, which now cover a range of professions from bartenders and florists to turtle farmers and scrap-metal recyclers.”

LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):
Ironically, public policies intended to help people are making it more difficult and less likely for them to seek opportunities to take care of themselves.

Struggling Americans Once Sought Greener Pastures—Now They’re Stuck

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