It has gotten much worse. Flower arrangement, interior decorators, every profession wants in on the licensure monopoly. There are definitely things where you want the state to make sure that someone has a minimum level of education and training. Medicine, law, engineering, but some things are not really necessary anymore, such as the dietetics license. Certainly not a license to be an interior decorator, or arrange flowers.

The license locks in professionals to continually give money to a private organization every year, and keep out everyone else.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/you-shouldnt-need-a-...

https://bostonrealestatetimes.com/advancing-commercial-inter...

https://citizens.org/dietetic-association-and-efforts-to-mon...

I remember the John Oliver segment from a few years ago

The added layer that blew my tiny British mind was that the licensing is done by states (because somehow licensing barbers was omitted from the constitution)

The consequence of this is that if you want to move or if you live in a state border city like KCMO, you have to do the licensing all over again with another state. Bonkers, as we say here.

Imagine living in Dover, and deciding to move just 26 miles to Calais. Quelle horror! You will need to do the licensing all over again!

(at least, you certainly will post-Brexit; not 100% sure what the pre-Brexit story was on that, but I have a feeling it may have similar)

I'd rather not imagine living in Dover if you don't mind

I missed your nick :) Fellow E11 (or rather, ex-E11-er) here.

I just picked it because it was closest to the border. You can have Brighton or Hastings or Rye if one of them works better for you.

Having been injured (not particularly badly) by a hairdresser who didn’t know what they were doing, I’m not entire sure I agree with you.

I’m not saying that the actual licensing regime makes sense (I don’t know much about it), but requiring that one demonstrate knowledge of the rules before professionally cutting hair seems fine. At least California does this for restaurants, too.

The problem with licensure is that there are many markets where the number of licensed professionals is zero. My wife reminds me of this--she grew up in rural Idaho, where many things I take for granted (e.g. electricians, medical care) growing up in the Chicago suburbs, weren't available.

Let's consider the choices of a homeowner in this market, who needs electrical work done: (a) pay a licensed professional to travel into their market (expensive), (b) have someone unlicensed do the work (or DIY it), or (c) just don't do it.

This is why I think certification (not mandatory licensing) is the way to go. It's not clear that criminalizing economic activity when it's someone's only real choice--and there may be major health/safety hazards if the work isn't done--is beneficial.