Obamunism.
Bingo.
Obamunism and government over-regulation in general do crush the entrepreneurial spirit and upward mobility and are certainly in play, but there are other factors at work here, too.
In just the past year, just my unit of the company I work for has hired two remote employees in other states. 10 years ago, they would have needed to move to our corporate headquarters to perform the role and functions they can do from their home offices without needing to pack up and relocate.