January 7, 2020: The Census Bureau reports that 9.8% of Americans were living in a new home last year. That’s the lowest level of mobility ever recorded.[1]
From the end of World War II through the 1980s, the percentage of people moving was roughly double the current rate. Just over 20% moved to a new home in 1985.[1]
However, in the 21st century, the number moving has never reached even 15%. And, it has declined in each of the past four years.[1]
As explained in my book, The Sun is Still Rising: Politics Has Failed But America Will Not, the freedom and willingness to move plays an essential part in holding governments accountable. It
explains why we are happier with local government than with the federal government. We get to choose where we live and that gives us the power to hold local government accountable. Just like voluntary organizations and retail firms, communities compete for residents, employers and jobs. We choose a place to live based upon the lifestyle mix of housing, activities, taxes, and services. The local government influences that balance, but so do a host of other factors such as geography, climate, traditions, entertainment options, and jobs. Sometimes people have a sentimental attachment to a place that makes them overlook other flaws and sometimes people have the opposite reaction. Wherever they choose to live, most people don’t bother to vote in local elections. Fortunately, they have a more powerful tool to
hold officials accountable—they have the freedom to choose. “The act of moving or failing to move is crucial,” according to an influential journal publication written long ago by Northwestern University’s Charles M. Tiebout. “Moving or failing to move replaces the usual market test of willingness to buy a good and reveals the consumer-voter’s demand for public goods.”[2] Looked at this way, when we choose a place to live, we are “buying” a particular mix of lifestyle benefits and the price we pay is determined by housing costs, taxes, regulations, and other factors. If the costs go up or the benefits go down, we might rise up and try to vote in a new team to fix the problem. After all, it’s a bit of a hassle to move. But, sooner or
later, if the prices keep going up or the services keep going down, we can express our displeasure simply by moving. The fact that individuals and businesses are free to move places great constraints on the power of local government officials. If, for example, the officials raise taxes too high or cut valued services too low, some people would move away. Others who had been thinking of moving to the community for the first time would re-evaluate their options. Housing prices would decline and the community would become less desirable. Just as likely, however, is the fact that change could come from totally outside the local government. If a major employer leaves town, that too could encourage people to move elsewhere and lead to a decline in city tax revenue, services, and housing prices. So, local officials have the difficult task of finding the right mix of costs and benefits to keep
businesses and individuals from moving away. Fortunately, as consumers, we don’t have to evaluate all of their policy decisions, we just have to look at the end result.
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