AFP Issues Key Vote Alert Supporting Cosmetology Occupational Licensing Bill

May 15, 2020 by AFP

ST. PAUL, MN – Americans for Prosperity-Minnesota (AFP-MN) issued a key vote alert urging representatives to support SF2898, a bill that would exempt a number of activities from cosmetology occupational licenses.

Read the Key Vote Alert Here.

Background:

In the 1950s, about one-in-twenty Americans required a license to work. Today that number is one-in-four.

Many of these licenses do nothing to protect consumers like they are supposedly intended. Rather, they serve entrenched interests by insulating them from competition. Although proponents of occupational licenses proclaim they serve to improve safety and quality for consumers, research and historical observations suggest otherwise, regularly showing that licensing laws have negligible and even negative effects on health and safety.

An Obama White House report also found that: “Licensing laws also lead to higher prices for goods and services… Moreover, in a number of other studies, licensing did not increase the quality of goods and services, suggesting that consumers are sometimes paying higher prices without getting improved goods or services.”

Research also shows that in more onerously licensed states, entrepreneurship rates are lower among low-income residents, recidivism rates are higher for ex-offenders, and other unintended consequences such as increased crime rates occur due to decreased employment opportunities.

© 2024 AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | PRIVACY POLICY