> people could move to places with higher wages (e.g., cities), no?
...well, often times, when you have a family and real estate in a region, it might be inopportune to do that, and my contention is that some employers capitalize on that immobility by offering worse terms.
> Being in a place where you could help shape local politics seems like a good move, no?
Sure. If you want to buy a forest, have your buddy the mayor re-zone it as industrial, and build a logistics hub there, it's a good move. Not so good, if you're the company from out of town that wants to move in and do the same thing, to compete with the incumbent (and you aren't friends with the mayor). Not so good, if you kind of liked the forest.
> What is the issue with "excellence in craft" as keeping "out the competion"? Why would anyone not want to beat the competion?
You can beat the competition by being a plumber who offers better plumbing at lower prices. Or the better plumbing and lower prices might be from the plumber who just moved here from Turkey. And then you can beat that would-be competition through regulatory capture by having your buddies in politics pass a law to assert that the craftsmanship of the Turkish feller is somehow inferior to yours and they aren't allowed to work as a plumber.
...well, often times, when you have a family and real estate in a region, it might be inopportune to do that, and my contention is that some employers capitalize on that immobility by offering worse terms.
> Being in a place where you could help shape local politics seems like a good move, no?
Sure. If you want to buy a forest, have your buddy the mayor re-zone it as industrial, and build a logistics hub there, it's a good move. Not so good, if you're the company from out of town that wants to move in and do the same thing, to compete with the incumbent (and you aren't friends with the mayor). Not so good, if you kind of liked the forest.
> What is the issue with "excellence in craft" as keeping "out the competion"? Why would anyone not want to beat the competion?
You can beat the competition by being a plumber who offers better plumbing at lower prices. Or the better plumbing and lower prices might be from the plumber who just moved here from Turkey. And then you can beat that would-be competition through regulatory capture by having your buddies in politics pass a law to assert that the craftsmanship of the Turkish feller is somehow inferior to yours and they aren't allowed to work as a plumber.