A License to Shampoo: Jobs Needing State Approval Rise

Wall Street Journal ^ | FEBRUARY 7, 2011 | STEPHANIE SIMON

[reaganaut1]

Amid calls for shrinking government, lawmakers across the country are vowing to cut regulations that crimp economic growth. President Barack Obama recently said it's time to root out laws that "are just plain dumb."

Tell that to the cat groomers, tattoo artists, tree trimmers and about a dozen other specialists across the country who are clamoring for more rules governing small businesses.

They're asking to become state-licensed professionals, which would mean anyone wanting to be, say, a music therapist or a locksmith, would have to pay fees, apply for a license and in some cases, take classes and pass exams. The hope is that regulation will boost the prestige of their professions, provide oversight and protect consumers from shoddy work.

But economists—and workers shut out of fields by educational requirements or difficult exams—say licensing mostly serves as a form of protectionism, allowing veterans of the trade to box out competitors who might undercut them on price or offer new services.

"Occupations prefer to be licensed because they can restrict competition and obtain higher wages," said Morris Kleiner, a labor professor at the University of Minnesota. "If you go to any statehouse, you'll see a line of occupations out the door wanting to be licensed."

While some states have long required licensing for workers who handle food or touch others—caterers and hair stylists, for example—economists say such regulation is spreading to more states for more industries. The most recent study, from 2008, found 23% of U.S. workers were required to obtain state licenses, up from just 5% in 1950, according to data from Mr. Kleiner. In the mid-1980s, about 800 professions were licensed in at least one state. Today, at least 1,100 are, according to the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation, a trade group for regulatory bodies.

[reaganaut1]

Removing unnecessary licensing requirement would create more jobs than the current plan of sending everyone to college.

[Red Badger]

Here you have to have a license to braid hair..............

[MrB]

Lefties would tell you that these types of laws are to protect the consumer.

They’re not. They are to protect those who already “got theirs”.

[GeronL]

didn’t Kaliphate-ornia make you get a $90 license to flip burgers?

[screaminsunshine]

In Florida you have to get a fishing license to fish off the bank now. Thanks Jeb. There are more Marine patrol out in the bay checking your paperwork than there are fishermen. Thanks Jeb. They even have a commercial fishing license that allows you only to catch inedible fish. Thanks Jeb. Big government compliments of Jeb Bush.

[Responsibility2nd]

Look. The entire point of licensing is for the State to reach into your pocket for the licensing fees.

Pure and simple.

[Rashputin]

College degrees are the current titles of nobility now that you have to have the right politics for most PhD programs and even some Masters programs. These licenses are permits for the serfs to engage in petty commerce in the fiefdom of a particular noble. The democrat fascist dream of a eugenics protected and refined nobility hasn't changed since they regrouped after having to give up their slaves.

[TMD]

I just had a tree trimmer out last week and he said he was limited to only cutting trees up to 15’ tall. At first I thought he was limited by his ladder but then, since it’s California, I realized there must be some governing body with a million regulations that only ‘allows’ him to cut trees 15’ or shorter.......

[investigateworld]

Correct. The whole concept of ‘occupational licensing’ goes
back to the Thirties. It was part of FDR's program to keep .gov employees employed.

[Alberta's Child]

I would not object to licensing requirements for any occupation that directly involves public health and safety (I say this as a licensed engineer whose work is subject to public review, and for good reason).

Beyond this, I believe private licensing or certification along the lines of the ASE certification process (through the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence) should be more than adequate to distinguish professionals from amateurs in most fields.

[antiRepublicrat]

Some things are for safety. An unclean tattoo artist can easily spread disease. A tree service can easily get people killed by felling a tree wrong. A bad electrician could end up burning down a neighborhood. Licensing is supposed to ensure a minimum level of education and adherence to standards.

Locksmithing is another matter. Practicing locksmithing isn’t a danger to anybody, but because those skills can also be used by criminals they license the profession and its tools (possession of lockpicking tools is illegal in most places). By that logic you could require a license for just about any trade.

[DemforBush]

“The entire point of licensing is for the State to reach into your pocket for the licensing fees.”

Yup. I used to be an regional manager for a private security company. Every state in my area had some form of required license for security guards. Only one of those states tied the license qualifications to any sort of mandatory training program, background check, or anything else that might seem relevant. The rest just collected their little fee and went about their merry way. I could have hired Ernest T. Bass to guard a window-making shop and the licensing boards wouldn’t have cared.

[Poison Pill]

The hope is that regulation will boost the prestige of their professions, provide oversight and protect consumers from shoddy work.

Baloney. The goal is to increase the barrier to entry for new competitors so that the established practitioners can charge more.

[abbyg55]

By that logic you could require a license for just about any trade.

Don't give them any ideas.

[stubernx98]

Nope most licensing requirements are by the people in the “profession” trying to limit competition. Used to call them Guilds.

My son just opened a Salon, and they needed a State Business license, Federal TIN, a professional license at the state level for each activity, a County license, a City business License, a Safety posting, a Posting on Wage practices, a fire inspection and permit, and.... Still coming.

Then there is the taxes.....

[DemforBush]

Good points about public health issues and skilled trades. Where I object is when the licenses required have no bearing or relation to ensuring quality or screening out bad seeds. That’s been my experience in a lot of lower-end service sector industries.

Again, good points in your respective posts.

[bill1952]

When we owned a fitness center back in the 90s, the aerobics instructors were clamoring for state certification for “instructors,” and wanted my backing.
When they started with the “we are health & fitness care professionals” I cut them off.

“You are women dancing - get over it.”

[investigateworld]

LOL!!!!

I would have told them "Well let's get out the pole".

[waxer1]

I am an esthetician. Have to be licensed of course..Higher wages my rearend. I work hard to earn enough to pay my bills.

Uncle sam takes the rest in taxes. Cant win

[poobear]

State Certification
Qualifying Business License
Occupational License
Multiple County Registrations
Filing Fees each Year to keep current
Continuing Education Fees
Liability Insurance
Commercial Auto Insurance
Workers Comp Insurance
Additionally Insured Insurance
The List goes on....

This just to install an energy efficient heating and air conditioning unit. The list is bigger for Commercial.

I don’t want to hear that all I have to do is raise my prices!

Now it is my obligation to share my profits with my employees. That would be great if I could afford employees.