Licensing laws injure the poor more than anyone (as if you didn't know). In at least one state, you have to be licensed to be a shampoo assistant.
Money fact: estimated annual cost to the U.S. economy: $100 billion.
Depressing fact: occupational licensing is growing.
Next up: tougher state- (and federally-?) mandated requirements for mortgage brokers.
An interior design professor-cum-rent seeker's campaign for monopolistic restrictions in that industry highlights the political process behind licensing. Don't dare call yourself an interior designer if you're merely an interior decorator.
Adam Smith, call your office.
