20 times harder to be a Tour Guide than an EMT?
June 17, 2015 8:35 AM Subscribe
3 in 10 workers is forbidden from practicing without an official license. This used to be 5%, covering cases where the restriction made sense, like medicine, law or electrical work. Now would-be florists, make-up artists, locksmiths, dance instructors, hair braiders, upholsterers, and interior designers (etc) must submit to costly and time-intensive procedures just to work. Hundreds of days of questionable training and hundreds of dollars in fees are not uncommon.
This post was deleted for the following reason: It's an interesting topic but this is a pretty short piece that seems to be more or less a plug for an upcoming Hamilton Project event; maybe round up some more substantial, less presser/editorial links for the meat of a do-over? -- cortex
There was a Planet Money podcast about this a while back as well:
Episode 381: Why It's Illegal To Braid Hair Without A License.
To the extent that this is revenue-generating for states, I'm kind of curious as to how this correlates to states that don't have sales tax or income tax.
The conclusion in that paper (pdf) states:
The loss of fee revenue from occupational licenses would be offset by taxes from higher employment and additional transactions.
But where state income tax/sales tax doesn't exist, how does that work out?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:47 AM on June 17, 2015
Episode 381: Why It's Illegal To Braid Hair Without A License.
To the extent that this is revenue-generating for states, I'm kind of curious as to how this correlates to states that don't have sales tax or income tax.
The conclusion in that paper (pdf) states:
The loss of fee revenue from occupational licenses would be offset by taxes from higher employment and additional transactions.
But where state income tax/sales tax doesn't exist, how does that work out?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:47 AM on June 17, 2015
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The other thing that this article doesn't really touch on is that occupational licensing also creates a huge barrier to relocating. If you are in a licensed profession, it is no small thing to move: you generally have to re-apply to a different state, often with different training requirements, and shell out more money in fees. Which means that if you are unlucky enough to get licensed in a state with a bad economy for your particular field, you are forced to either scrap by, or make a large upfront investment to move to a place with better opportunities.
posted by likeatoaster at 8:44 AM on June 17, 2015