Mar 02 These bills are NOT business friendly bills

Thanks to all Republicans for voting to uphold the veto override on the GAMC legislation.

See this MPR article for another bill you should vote down. Memo to Governor Pawlenty....please think business and consumer friendly legislation.

When regulating interior designers, less is more

by Lee McGrath, March 2, 2010

Occupational licensing laws cost Minnesotans dearly. Every year, consumers unnecessarily pay an estimated $2 billion extra for services because the state Legislature and city councils have enacted licensing laws that needlessly limit entry into field after field. This government-imposed restriction on competition allows those licensed to charge extra for their services, adding to the costs Minnesotans must pay to providers for everything from animal chiropractors to wild rice dealers.

Some try to argue that licensing is designed to protect consumers, but the truth is that the higher costs don't lead to higher quality. As Prof. Morris Kleiner of the Humphrey Institute wrote, "From the evidence I was able to gather, there is no overall quality benefit ... of licensing to consumers." So what do we get for all the extra money we are forced to spend because of government-created scarcity in various occupations? Little more than higher prices and the reallocation of income from consumers to practitioners of licensed occupations.

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Businesses throughout Minnesota will also be harmed if this bill passes. It will leave purchasers of design services with fewer options, and undoubtedly higher fees.

The bottom line is that would-be entrepreneurs shouldn't be blocked from pursuing an honest enterprise because of the whims of a senseless government-imposed cartel. And customers should not be forced to give up their right to choose the interior designers who meet their qualifications for a project.

In the coming years, good-government DFLers and pro-market Republicans have $2 billion worth of annual reasons to overhaul Minnesota's anti-competitive licensing laws. For now, voting down this bill would be a good start.

Cross-posted at Sue Jeffers' KTLK Blog.