Why License a Florist?

The New York Times reports:

In Minnesota, more classroom time is required to become a cosmetologist than to become a lawyer. Becoming a manicurist takes double the number of hours of instruction as a paramedic. In Louisiana, the only state in the country that requires licenses for florists, monks were until recently forbidden to sell coffins because they were not licensed funeral directors.

These regulations are not just unusual cases of state laws run amok but deliberate policies from one of the fastest growing labor market institutions in the United States: government licensing of jobs. This form of regulation — largely established by state governments and implemented through their licensing boards — is often referred to as “the right to practice.” Under these laws, working in a licensed occupation is illegal without first meeting government standards.

In the 1970s, about 10 percent of individuals who worked had to have licenses, but by 2008, almost 30 percent of the work force needed them.

The rent-seeker can't openly shaft consumers so he buys politicians through campaign contributions. Then we hear about "public safety" from politicians. Did you really think the businessman is for laissez-faire?