Occupational licensing hurts the U.S. economy - opting-out provisions to occupational licensing for individual consumers and their chosen providers are the easiest way to solve the problem

In July of 2015, the U.S. President's Department of the Treasury Office of Economic Policy, together with the Council of Economic Advisers, and the Department of Labor,  published a report regarding the state of occupational licensing in the United States.  

The report paints a very scary picture of what occupational licensing does to the economy of the U.S. and to people's livelihoods.   I encourage my readers to read the report in full, it is quite interesting.

I especially encourage supporters of Bernie Sanders to read this report.   Senator Sanders claims he will create jobs for average Americans if elected president.  I do not know how he will fulfill that promise when over 25% (and, by other sources, over 30%) of the U.S. job force is regulated by state governments, over which the President has no control.

Here is a very illustrative paragraph from the report:

 So, the federal government practically openly acknowledges that occupational licensing of professions by states which is always declared to be done in order to protect consumers of services, but is in reality lobbied by those same professions as a measure to restrict competition and keep prices of services higher than they are worth in a free market, in reality hurts the U.S. economy, hurts people and prevents them from having an ability to properly provide for their families and from obtaining services they need at affordable prices.

I wonder when the federal government will go further than stating the problem and what it will do to address it. 

I already wrote in this blog about my position as a consumer of services that are licensed by the government:  as a competent adult, I have a right of free choice of service providers for my personal use and for the use by my household and family.

If the government wants to give me help in verifying qualifications and quality of work of such providers, I have a right to say to the government - no, thank you, I do not need your help.   

And, the government certainly has no right to punish me with a criminal record for "aiding and abetting" or "soliciting" "unauthorized practice" of a licensed profession because I rejected the government's help.

The opting-out provisions for individual consumers and their chosen providers to occupational licensing may undo this problem of the U.S. economy, and quite easily.   And, such opting-out provisions will not hurt consumers who want occupational licensing to remain in place.  People will simply have a choice - to go with a licensed or with an unlicensed provider, to accept or to reject help in verifying quality of services by the government.

It is very simple.  When you are offered help, you can say - "no, thank you, I'll manage on my own".  Even if the helper is the government.