My Old Country is Fading
I emigrated from the UK to the US in 1996. Since then, my country of birth has changed, as have I. My visits to my old country usually make me feel like the old cliché: “a stranger in my own land.” Over recent years I feel the UK has moved even more rapidly away from the place it once was. I thought it would be instructive to see whether there are metrics to support that feeling.
First, the UK just seems much less prosperous than the US. Reports from my family and the news media suggest the cost of living is high compared to pay, and the job market is bleak. Relative GDP and unemployment rates can give some insight into these issues.
Even back in 1996, US GDP per capita was about 23% higher than the UK. Frankly, this gap had a lot to do with my decision to leave. Fast forward to last year and the difference has grown. Based upon even the most optimistic of estimates of recent UK GDP, the US is now 50% ahead on a per capita basis! The culprits behind this major swing towards the US are not too hard to identify. The UK has higher taxes, more regulations, and a much less entrepreneurial mindset. The dead hand of government weighs very heavy.
Buried within the UK GDP statistics is another dimension that is often overlooked. The area around London has income and wealth that are much higher than the rest of the UK, with the income difference being about 20%. Of course, there are some differences across the US, but I was surprised to see that pay in the north of England area where I was raised is about half of the average pay here in Atlanta.
The job market also weighs heavily in favor of the US. Current unemployment in the UK is 5.2% and on a rising trend. We have our own problems too, but we have a lower rate (just over 4%) and a much more vibrant labor market. Digging further into labor market data reveals other unfavorable comparisons for the UK. Long-term sickness and early retirement mean that the UK has a high labor inactivity rate. Moreover, labor productivity differences are so profound that a US worker can produce in eight months what it takes for a UK worker to produce in a year.
Even the sense of being British is on the decline. UK Census data shows that the proportion of the population identifying as “English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish, or British” fell from 87.5% to 74.4% between 2001 and 2021.
The American political classes have not helped generate much of a sense of cohesion or goodwill in our country over the last decade or more. However, our diverse nation remains strong and dynamic. The grass may seem greener beyond our borders, but the reality is often quite different. I, for one, am grateful every day to be a US citizen.
Richard Rushton