Mouth/Trousers Distribution Error

Recent news that Britain leads the world in the number of "skilled workers" choosing to emigrate has caused some concern, not to least to Matt Sinclair:

"Ever higher levels of tax; little to show by way of public service results for that huge drain on private incomes; an overly meddlesome state that leaves people bereft of control over their own lives. Yesterday's emigration numbers should be a wake-up call for a nation whose government is attempting to do too much and doing a very poor job of it. "

You might think that's reading a lot into emigration statistics. And you might think Matt doesn't rate the UK, or its government. But you'd be wrong. As Matt himself says, it's not what you say, but what you do that matters:

"Surveys, opinion polls, personal anecdote and other ways in which people express their opinion can often be misleading or distorted … It is often better to look at revealed preferences; how people actually behave when faced with actual decisions in real life…"

Given which, the following point cannot be over-stressed: Matt Sinclair lives and works in the UK.