Millions of Americans have stopped working—at least on paper—over the past two years. They are only slowly trickling back into the labor force, despite plentiful job opportunities. Multiple factors are causing this, including fear of the COVID-19 disease and self-reported health issues. Close examination of available data, however, reveals the most prominent factor is that people rely on the taxpayer dime, a recent report concluded. “Today’s employment market is unlike any other in history,” the Dec. 8 report says (pdf). “Never before has America experienced a labor shortage of today’s magnitude, and particularly extraordinary is that the current labor shortage exists alongside still-elevated unemployment and improved compensation packages that should spur more workers into jobs.” It estimates that through the COVID-19 pandemic, America has lost close to 5 million workers, or about 3 percent of its workforce. The report was authored by Rachel Greszler, a research fellow in Economics, Budget, …