First, let me stipulate that for a whole host of reasons, moving from state-to-state in search of lower tax rates and a better regulatory environment was not something Americans typically did in 1977. The World was much bigger back then. Companies, in general, did not have diverse workforces spread out across the country in a zillion different local offices to which workers could easily transfer. And we didn’t have things like fiber optic cable, sattelite communication, and the internet to make things like real-time data sharing over long distances possible.
That said, it’s pretty hard to listen to Billy Joel’s ’77 song MOVIN’ OUT and not feel like he was telling people to get the hell out of New York.
First, let’s talk about Anthony…
Anthony works in the grocery store
Savin’ his pennies for someday
Mama Leone left a note on the door
She said, Sonny, move out to the country
Workin’ too hard can give you
A heart attack (ack)
You oughta know by now (oughta know)
Who needs a house out in Hackensack
Is that what you get with your money?
Anthony’s problem is he’s working hard and saving and still can’t get ahead. New York is expensive. Mama Leone knows things would be better for him somewhere else, but this was 1977 and Anthony couldn’t really get to “The Country”… the best he could do was “Hackensack” where he would trade being constantly underwater financially for a two-hour commute (each way) that probably wouldn’t net him any real savings. I’m gonna let you in on a true fact. I lived in the Northeast for a long time, and if the best you can do is New Jersey, then you haven’t solved a single one of your problems.
And then there’s Sergeant O’Leary…
Sergeant O’Leary is walkin’ the beat
At night he becomes a bartender
He works at Mister Cacciatore’s down
On Sullivan Street
Across from the medical center
He’s tradin’ in his Chevy for a Cadillac
You oughta know by now
And if he can’t drive
With a broken back
At least he can polish the fenders
Sgt. O’Leary has the same problem as Anthony… even though he’s got a good Union Job, he can barely make ends meet without moonlighting as a bartender. Sure, he’s trading in his Chevy for a Cadillac ack ack ack but when is he ever going to have time to drive the damned thing? O’Leary’s problem, as is Anthony’s, is the back-breaking cost of living in high-tax, crushingly-regulatory New York. Wage increases can never keep up.
Movin’ out, is right.
And then, finally we get to the mic drop…
You can pay Uncle Sam with the overtime
Is that all you get for your money
If that’s what you have in mind
If that’s what you’re all about
Good luck movin’ up
‘Cause I’m moving out
Neither of these men is really moving up… all they’re really doing is putting a band-aid on a bad situation to try and make themselves feel a little better about their general misery. And even when they do the smart financial thing, the harder they work and the more they save the more Uncle Sam takes. Their problem is not their jobs or their level of education or even their motivation to better their lives… their problem is Government.
Now I don’t mean to suggest that Billy Joel saw the future, only that MOVIN’ OUT is an indication of exactly how long Big Blue Cities like New York have been screwing over their citizens. Not much has changed about that since 1977, except that almost all of us have something the New Yorkers of 1977 didn’t have.
The ability to move out.