Held Hostage By Health Care

With the democrats ascendant, the political climate is ripe for another push for universal medical coverage. Kelly Services Inc. (KELYA ) Chief Executive Carl T. Camden, a proponent of fixing health care once and for all, is taking advantage of the opportunity by rolling out new rhetorical ammunition. Workers, he says, are increasingly shackled to their jobs for no reason other than to cling to their employers' health insurance coverage. These are people, he says, "who don't leave a job even though they're unhappy and would be more productive somewhere else."

Economists and academics call this phenomenon "job lock." Studies say it could reduce job mobility by up to 25%, according to Brigitte Madrian, a public policy and corporate management professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. A fluid labor market is viewed as a prime driver of U.S. economic growth relative to other industrialized countries.