Gotta love that greedy government of ours
If it's not an income tax, a sales tax, or a property tax, it's a fee. Fees of every kind. Some fees make a modicum of sense; many don't. For example, does it really behoove the government of a free society to license manicurists or hair stylists or interior designers? A recent blog post pointed to this old news story about a New Hampshire resident who was arrested for filing finger nails without a license. And until just this week, Alabama law made it illegal to give advice about paint colors or throw pillows without a license.
Imagine you were a state legislator and some folks asked you to pass a law making it a crime to give advice about paint colors and throw pillows without a license. And imagine they told you that the only people qualified to place large pieces of furniture in a room are those who have gotten a college degree in interior design, completed a two-year apprenticeship, and passed a national licensing exam. And by the way, it is criminally misleading for people who practice interior design to use that term without government permission.
You might stare at them incredulously for a moment, then look down at your calendar and say, "Oh, I get it -- April Fool!" Right? Wrong.
These folks represent the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), an industry group whose members have waged a 30-year, multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign to legislate their competitors out of business. And those absurd restrictions on advice about paint selection, throw pillows and furniture placement represent the actual fruits of lobbying in places like Alabama, Nevada and Illinois, where ASID and its local affiliates have peddled their snake-oil mantra that "Every decision an interior designer makes affects life safety and quality of life."
Not just irksome because our governments inhibit competition and make it harder for small business owners to get started, these laws also do something I find abhorrent: they pretend to be looking out for the common good when it's really all about extortion. I've said this many times, but the hypocrisy is worse to me than the fee. I prefer the corruption that doesn't pretend to be righteous -- like say in Mexico where a person (particularly a gringo) is expected to periodically bribe police officers just to be left alone. I guess I'm just funny that way.
Imagine you were a state legislator and some folks asked you to pass a law making it a crime to give advice about paint colors and throw pillows without a license. And imagine they told you that the only people qualified to place large pieces of furniture in a room are those who have gotten a college degree in interior design, completed a two-year apprenticeship, and passed a national licensing exam. And by the way, it is criminally misleading for people who practice interior design to use that term without government permission.
You might stare at them incredulously for a moment, then look down at your calendar and say, "Oh, I get it -- April Fool!" Right? Wrong.
These folks represent the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), an industry group whose members have waged a 30-year, multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign to legislate their competitors out of business. And those absurd restrictions on advice about paint selection, throw pillows and furniture placement represent the actual fruits of lobbying in places like Alabama, Nevada and Illinois, where ASID and its local affiliates have peddled their snake-oil mantra that "Every decision an interior designer makes affects life safety and quality of life."
Not just irksome because our governments inhibit competition and make it harder for small business owners to get started, these laws also do something I find abhorrent: they pretend to be looking out for the common good when it's really all about extortion. I've said this many times, but the hypocrisy is worse to me than the fee. I prefer the corruption that doesn't pretend to be righteous -- like say in Mexico where a person (particularly a gringo) is expected to periodically bribe police officers just to be left alone. I guess I'm just funny that way.