A very long time ago, I applied to collect benefits for what is now called “Employment insurance” in the Socialist Republic of Kanuckistan. In those days, you

A very long time ago, I applied to collect benefits for what is now called “Employment insurance” in the Socialist Republic of Kanuckistan. In those days, you went in person to a drab office located inside a monumental Government building designed in Brutalist style. Besides making the application, you could also look for jobs: There was a physical job board with little cards posted on it. I mentioned an ad I saw for a job in my field, and the civil servant helping me said, “Don’t bother. They already have someone they want to hire from overseas, and they’re required to post an advertisement here for 90 days.” (I may misremember the exact duration.) The agent told me that anybody who applied would have a long delay before getting an interview, long delays trying to follow up or even get an answer about how the interview went, and in the end, they wouldn’t hire anybody local regardless of experience or expertise. I complained that this was clearly gaming the system, and the agent shrugged: “If you can’t get another job just as good, come back and complain then.” For me in my field, that was certainly a fine answer. But for other fields, maybe not.