I concur, generally
And I have a few licenses: Licensing Boards Are Cartels
Certainly, some professions require proof of competence. I mean, I’m not going to go to an amateur dentist. But a lot of licensing seems silly, such as licenses to braid hair and paint fingernails. And this does not include licensing that’s used as protectionism.
September 28th, 2017 at 7:39 pm
The problem that I have is the requirements to get a license. The system is set up to make money for colleges.
Abraham Lincoln received a law license with only a third grade education.
I got out of the military after 6 years of being an electrician, but I wasn’t allowed to sit for the licensing exam as a civilian, because I didn’t graduate from an approved training program.
To be a Doctor requires medical school. To qualify for entry into medical school, one must have a 4 year degree. In anything. Film, business, art, it doesn’t matter.
September 28th, 2017 at 7:42 pm
If it were up to me, I’d do away with the bar association, and I’m a lawyer! It only serves to make lawyers unaffordable for those in need. Think about it, even though I’ve spent about 8 hours in court in the last twenty years, the bar would considerme qualified to defend a drunk driving case, but a smart high school grad with decent writing skills, a few specialized classes and some strong apprenticeship experience is not. Which do you think would be more affordable? The bar exists to keep people out of the profession. It does not serve to establish standards. Witness what is happening with the California exam cutoff score now.
September 28th, 2017 at 8:41 pm
My state “license” requires no test to establish competency. There’s simply a 20+ page application and a famned fee.
It’s all about the money
September 28th, 2017 at 10:57 pm
In California to become a security guard you have to pass a 40 hour training course (paid for out of pocket by you), do a DOJ/FBI livescan, THEN you can pay to have a license. All this in order to walk around with a flashlight and handcuffs (again out of pocket). If you want to actually have any level of protection you have to go through further classes and licensing. Thus why nearly every guard I deal with is a complete idiot.
September 29th, 2017 at 10:48 am
Licensing generally is about protecting the incumbents from competition first and foremost. Collecting money for the local government is a secondary goal.
One way to recognize this is to observe that licensing boards tend to be made up of people in the business who already have a license.
September 29th, 2017 at 11:21 am
Paul, that is sometimes known as “Screw you; I’ve got MINE.”
September 29th, 2017 at 12:06 pm
On a firearm-related licensing note, Texas just dropped the fee for a concealed carry license (which may now be called a permit, IIRC) from $140 to $40 for a 5 year license. So we have that going for us, which is nice.
Our governor signed the bill at a gun range.
“Following the bill signing, Abbott tested out a few guns at an upstairs shooting range.
“I’m gonna carry this around in case I see any reporters,” Abbott joked while holding his bullet-riddled target sheet.”
The article ended with “Reducing the fee is expected to cost the state roughly $12.6 million in 2018.”
Oddly enough, that is the EXACT amount of money the fee reduction saves Texas citizens.
September 29th, 2017 at 9:56 pm
Medieval Guilds pure and simple.
The one that gets me the most is a license to wash hair at a hair cuttery.
That’s as ridiculous as it gets.
September 29th, 2017 at 10:09 pm
It’s a racket, and a lot of “building permits” aren’t much different.