To a large extent, this wave of overseas migration is simply part of life in an increasingly globalized economy — and that’s a good thing. That young people would look beyond the United States when considering job prospects is a sign of a maturing country and an increasingly open and multicultural world. There’s no reason that smart, talented people should stay in the country where they were born or where they grew up. Plus, working abroad means learning new skills to be brought back to the United States — assuming you choose to return.
But the fact that so many young Americans are moving abroad of out necessity, because U.S. companies and institutions aren’t paying decent salaries and benefits? That’s problematic. The fact that so many young Americans have lost faith in the United States as a place of innovation and possibility? That’s deeply worrying.
We need to invest in talent, in education. We need to offer benefits similar to those in other developed nations. We need to recognize that working longer hours and “doing more with less” doesn’t create better workers, only more burnt-out ones.
