According to an investigative report published Tuesday by the Goldwater Institute few occupational licenses have anything to do with protecting the public’s health or safety. Goldwater notes that the fact is most licensed occupations are licensed in only one state, which proves these licenses are unnecessary because people living in the other 49 states are not being harmed by people performing the work.
The Goldwater Institute’s new investigation report, Protection Racket: Occupational Licensing Laws and the Right to Earn a Living, examines licensing laws and the motivations behind them.
“Licensing supporters say that these regulations are designed to keep the public safe,” said Mark Flatten, the Goldwater Institute’s award-winning reporter who wrote the new report. “But many of the required licenses have nothing to do with protecting the public and everything to do with preventing newcomers from entering a profession.”
In most cases, the boards and commissions determining licensing requirements—and enforcing licensing laws—are run by people who are already in the industry. This gives licensing boards an incentive to make it harder and more costly to get a license so that people currently in an industry face less competition.
In addition to creating barriers to entry into a new profession, licensing laws can prevent people who are already licensed in one state from performing the same work in a different state. The refusal to recognize licenses from other states disproportionately affects people who are married to active duty members of the Armed Services and low-income workers.
There is strong bipartisan support for reforming licensing laws. The Goldwater Institute has proposed a “Right to Earn a Living Act” that was considered by the Arizona Legislature and would have put limits on the kinds of professions that require government-approval before a new worker can enter the profession. Similarly, President Obama has called for states to reduce licensing requirements. The White House issued a report last year that mirrored recommendations from the Goldwater Institute.
Read Protection Racket: Occupational Licensing Laws and the Right to Earn a Living here