400, Etc

I noticed when I went to post a link to something, that my blog has 400 posts, making this #401. Thought that was interesting.

The point, however, was an article by George Will that I saw linked in the Sacramento Bee. Did you know that it is illegal in the State of Nevada to receive money as an interior designer if you move any piece of furniture that is more than 69 inches tall, unless you are a licensed interior designer? The punishment is a maximum $1,000 fine and a year in prison.

"A Nevada bureaucrat says that 'placement of furniture' is an aspect of "space planning" and therefore is restricted to a 'registered interior designer.'"

Why? What flipping good does it do to have a license for such things? How does that benefit the public? Because I can give you a specific harm it gives the public - it makes the cost of such designers artificially high. It's a government-created cartel, artificially raising prices by restricting competition.

The argument is made in medicine and other professions that having someone who is unlicensed could expose the public to unnecessary danger. But what in the world does licensing interior designers do? Is space-planning so very dangerous?

Reason #1 why I oppose giving the Legislature more time to accomplish its business: I want to restrict their opportunity to "serve the public" by creating such onerous requirements. Deal with the fundamentals, and back off.