That
should stop. Overall, occupational licensing is harmful. It prevents the poor from
obtaining jobs and causes higher prices for their purchases. These results outweigh
the benefits of regulating public safety.
Let’s
say that licensing for hairdressers is stopped. A customer is injured by a dye used
to color her hair. She sues the hairdresser, the supplier, and the manufacturer
of the dye. The press furnishes publicity. The industry takes notice, and so does
the public. After several of these episodes, most people would become concerned
about safety.
But
the regulators want to prevent those “several episodes.” They like controlling the
lives of others, and they’re willing to make life harder for the poor to
prevent a few extra safety problems. A wretched trade-off!
Most
people would learn to take safety into account and select the businesses that
serve them by buying from some and not from others.
If
an association of hairdressers forms to keep out competition, they could be
sued. If an association forms to maintain a certain quality of hairdressing, a competing association could offer a different
quality. The government monopoly permits no competition.
Government
licensing for safety, yes, even of doctors, nurses, and lawyers, causes more
harm than good. Let the buyers decide.
