State license requirements out of control
When is the last time you picketed your state capitol in favor of increased education requirements for interior designers? Or wrote a letter to your lawmaker demanding higher licensure fees for midwives? Do you think your personal safety is at risk if your bartender isn’t licensed by the state?
Chances are, you have done none of those things because you are a sane person. And yet those professions are among the hundreds of jobs across America that are licensed by various states — jobs that require workers to undergo training, pay license fees and take exams in order to begin work.
In 2012, the Institute for Justice analyzed 102 low- to moderateincome professions regulated by various states and found that Wisconsin required a license for 47 of them. According to a recent study by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, one in five professions in Wisconsin now requires a state license, an increase of 84% in the past two decades.
Of course, it’s not the workers themselves or the public at large that is begging for these barriers to entry; it’s the industries that already have the workers that fit these requirements that want to squeeze others out of their markets. Occupational licensure limits competition, allowing established industries to charge more for their services under the guise of “public safety.” It’s an increased cost paid for by both the public and those who can’t get jobs because the licensing requirements are too strict.
The costs to consumers, while hidden, can be substantial. According to the Mercatus report, state nurse practitioner licensing is estimated to raise the price of a well-child checkup by 3% to 16%, dental hygienist and dental assistant licensing is estimated to increase the price of a dental visit by 7% to 11%, and optometry licensing is estimated to increase the price of eye care by 5% to 13%.
Naturally, those pushing for licenses argue that such regulation is needed to maintain quality and public safety — but even President Barack Obama’s administration rejected that notion, writing in a report that while “quality” is difficult to measure, “most research does not find that licensing improves quality or public health and safety.” There is very little difference seen in the caliber of professions licensed by some states and not others.
But because occupational licensure is essentially a special interest gift, it leads to wide discrepancies based on who happens to be lobbying for more regulations.
In Wisconsin, it inexplicably takes only 28 days of training to become an emergency medical technician, but 420 days of training to become a cosmetologist or a barber. If the “safety” enthusiasts were right, when you had to call 911, you’d be better off telling them you’re suffering from a terrible haircut so you get someone with 15 times as much training to answer your call.
The Wisconsin Legislature has taken some steps to correct the licensure burden; in August, Gov. Scott Walker signed a law that would require legislative approval of any new bureaucratic regulation with an economic impact greater than $10 million. But it’s not enough — the state should wipe clean the list of occupational licenses and build the list from the ground up, making sure each makes sense in context with all the others.
Long ago in Ireland, one actually had to study for 10 years and pass 10 exams just to become a writer, which would leave me about 10 years and 10 exams short of you ever being able to read this column. I hope you made it to this sentence safely, leaving you time to go navigate the dangerous world of vigilante manicurists.