the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

[tsetsefly]

Video based on these studies( http://www.ij.org/citystudies ) detailing, unnecessary and one might say pointless regulation aimed at getting more money for government or in many cases, preventing competition (as these regulations alot of times are backed by competitors or industries to prevent future entrants).

[flintlock]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

I heard a story on the radio today about how in Texas you can't repair computers without a Private Investigator license. Apparently it's true.

http://www.ij.org/about/2188

I see this stuff all the time. You now need a license to be a "handyman" in Georgia. Or an interior designer!

THIS is what people are talking about when they say government is too big. They really mean, too intrusive. At best, this is what bureaucrats do to justify their existence. At worst, it's nothing more than a corrupt shakedown.

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

At worst, it's nothing more than a corrupt shakedown.

I wish that was all it was.

[Rajiv]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

I heard a story on the radio today about how in Texas you can't repair computers without a Private Investigator license. Apparently it's true.

http://www.ij.org/about/2188

I see this stuff all the time. You now need a license to be a "handyman" in Georgia. Or an interior designer!

THIS is what people are talking about when they say government is too big. They really mean, too intrusive. At best, this is what bureaucrats do to justify their existence. At worst, it's nothing more than a corrupt shakedown.

Actually that is not the case -- Here is HB-2833 the relevant act and the relevant section

SECTION 3. Section 1702.102(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Unless the person holds a license as a security services
contractor, a person may not:
(1) act as an alarm systems company, armored car
company, courier company, guard company, [or] guard dog company,
locksmith company, or private security consultant company;
.
.
.
.
.
(b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1), obtaining or
furnishing information includes information obtained or furnished
through the review and analysis of, and the investigation into the
content of, computer-based data not available to the public.

I think your are blowing this totally out of proportion

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

I wish that was all it was.

I see two corrupt shakedown rackets, one gov't and one private. I have more trouble with the private rackets. They cost more and they never end.

The ones I see are credentials rackets. My favorite is the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Most large employers now require their PMs to have this credential, and it requires periodic refresher training at top dollar from trainers certified by the Project Management Institute. I see no evidence that America is getting better projects, but the PMI and its authorized vendors have grown like crazy.

My state has recently required us registered professional engineers to pay for continuing education credits each year. A community of racketeers has sprung up selling PE continuing ed courses of dubious value but steep prices. To keep your license you must pay up every year.

[flintlock]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

Actually that is not the case -- Here is HB-2833 the relevant act and the relevant section



I think your are blowing this totally out of proportion

Dude, I'm just passing along what I heard today on the radio, not blowing anyone or anything, anywhere.

Google the story and you get dozens of hits repeating the same thing
http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&so...e+investigator

As a state licensed contractor I am fully aware that this kind of worthless bureaucracy goes on. I took a six hour test that had more on it about taxes and insurance than it did electrical knowledge. Anyone who thinks the government has their best interests at heart is naive as hell. The racket in Georgia has now been expanded to involve "continuing education" where I am required to pay hundreds of dollars a year to sit around and eat bad food and listen to some hack talk about something he knows absolutely nothing about. I won't bore you with the details, but everyone in that room knew within minutes the "teacher" was an idiot. Of course, only certain companies are authorized to hold these seminars. What do you think are the odds they have connections to the politicians who introduced this?

Here is another one. Don't sue me if it turns out to be false.

http://www.lohud.com/article/201011150328

These stories have become so common that Americans are numb to the situation and have come to accept it. Gee, wonder why we can't attract business anymore?

[flintlock]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

I see two corrupt shakedown rackets, one gov't and one private. I have more trouble with the private rackets. They cost more and they never end.

The ones I see are credentials rackets. My favorite is the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Most large employers now require their PMs to have this credential, and it requires periodic refresher training at top dollar from trainers certified by the Project Management Institute. I see no evidence that America is getting better projects, but the PMI and its authorized vendors have grown like crazy.

My state has recently required us registered professional engineers to pay for continuing education credits each year. A community of racketeers has sprung up selling PE continuing ed courses of dubious value but steep prices. To keep your license you must pay up every year.

Yep, Private companies spend a lot of money trying to restrict competition. Through private AND public certifications. That's pretty much what business in America is becoming. They can't compete on a level playing field so everyone wants to fix the game. My last continuing education for electrical contracting consisted of classes on how to avoid getting sued, ethics, worker's compensation, and mold. I kind of doubt that this continuing education was sold to the legislature as being about business. It was sold as being about keeping up with changes in the profession. Code changes, safety, etc. Which I would agree with. They throw business stuff in there because A) most contractors could care less about the actual trade and B) It allows any business school hack to teach it.

Disclaimer: I am also a business major.

[Rajiv]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

Dude, I'm just passing along what I heard today on the radio, not blowing anyone or anything, anywhere.

Google the story and you get dozens of hits repeating the same thing
http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&so...e+investigator

As a state licensed contractor I am fully aware that this kind of worthless bureaucracy goes on. I took a six hour test that had more on it about taxes and insurance than it did electrical knowledge. Anyone who thinks the government has their best interests at heart is naive as hell. The racket in Georgia has now been expanded to involve "continuing education" where I am required to pay hundreds of dollars a year to sit around and eat bad food and listen to some hack talk about something he knows absolutely nothing about. I won't bore you with the details, but everyone in that room knew within minutes the "teacher" was an idiot. Of course, only certain companies are authorized to hold these seminars. What do you think are the odds they have connections to the politicians who introduced this?

Here is another one. Don't sue me if it turns out to be false.

http://www.lohud.com/article/201011150328

These stories have become so common that Americans are numb to the situation and have come to accept it. Gee, wonder why we can't attract business anymore?

I have a question -- I have a computer, I cannot boot it up, and the password file is corrupt. I take it in to a friendly computer repair shop. How does the computer repair person know that the computer is mine, or it is stolen, and my need to access the data is legitimate or illegitimate. If the computer was stolen, and I help the person, I am in a load of trouble -- or am I?

[Diarmuid]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

I see two corrupt shakedown rackets, one gov't and one private.

Facism the merger of private and public racketeering ;-)

The corruption at home and abroad - the apathy and ignorance among those who are being raped is really getting me down - to my own dismay, recently, for a moment, I began agreeing with some of Itulip Serge's writing, deeply distressing.

[flintlock]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

I have a question -- I have a computer, I cannot boot it up, and the password file is corrupt. I take it in to a friendly computer repair shop. How does the computer repair person know that the computer is mine, or it is stolen, and my need to access the data is legitimate or illegitimate. If the computer was stolen, and I help the person, I am in a load of trouble -- or am I?

I'm not sure what you are trying to ask/state here. Are you in agreement with a law that requires techs who "investigate" on computers to have a license? From what I can gather, this is one of those laws that stirred up a hornets nest a few years ago when it was enacted, but has room for interpretation. I do know that computer techs routinely report kiddie porn and other illegal activity. (Ask my neighbor down the street. ) Should you need a license for that? I think this law has more to do with helping the state prove it's case in a court of law than it does with any protection of citizens. They want a appeal proof verdict. Having a "licensed PI/tech" would make that job much easier. More likely, the intent was in regard to forensic techs, not your average virus and spyware fixer. Some DA must have been embarrassed when a judge threw out a case because the tech violated the law.

As to your question, I would say it is not the responsibility of the tech to determine the ownership of the computer. No more than it is the responsibility of the cleaners to make sure you did not shoplift that new suit. This big brother attempt to turn us all into spies for the state is troubling and right out of an Orwell novel.

[loweyecue]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

I see two corrupt shakedown rackets, one gov't and one private. I have more trouble with the private rackets. They cost more and they never end.

The ones I see are credentials rackets. My favorite is the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Most large employers now require their PMs to have this credential, and it requires periodic refresher training at top dollar from trainers certified by the Project Management Institute. I see no evidence that America is getting better projects, but the PMI and its authorized vendors have grown like crazy.

My state has recently required us registered professional engineers to pay for continuing education credits each year. A community of racketeers has sprung up selling PE continuing ed courses of dubious value but steep prices. To keep your license you must pay up every year.

You hit the nail on this one, I have been looking for a job for the last 5-6 months and getting screened out of positions that require a PMP certification. This is a living nightmare for me. I refuse to take this stupid test because all it does is check whether you can memorize and regurgitate the contents of a 600 page book which would make user manuals written in Chinese look more readable. (Full disclosure - I don't read Chinese).

I know people from my last workplace who are certified PM professionals and they couldn't manage a tech project if their lives depended on it. This thing is a huge scam, getting certified can cost between $2000 - $4000 depending on who you go with then there are yearly costs of maintaining your certification. This is an out and out scam of gigantic proportions just check their member count!

[llanlad2]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

I agree it is both a shakedown and compliance training.
Here in the UK the number of compulsory "Continuing Professional Development" courses you have to take to stay eligible for work in whatever industry you are in is ridiculous. Often they are based on dubious "Health and Safety" grounds. Drive me nuts. We'll all need certificates to go to the WC before long just in case we flush ourselves down the toilet.

[metalman]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

[Master Shake]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

Rajiv likes big, helpful, protective government.

[Rajiv]

Re: the explosive growth of occupational licensing and the economic damage it has done

I'm not sure what you are trying to ask/state here. Are you in agreement with a law that requires techs who "investigate" on computers to have a license? From what I can gather, this is one of those laws that stirred up a hornets nest a few years ago when it was enacted, but has room for interpretation. I do know that computer techs routinely report kiddie porn and other illegal activity. (Ask my neighbor down the street. ) Should you need a license for that? I think this law has more to do with helping the state prove it's case in a court of law than it does with any protection of citizens. They want a appeal proof verdict. Having a "licensed PI/tech" would make that job much easier. More likely, the intent was in regard to forensic techs, not your average virus and spyware fixer. Some DA must have been embarrassed when a judge threw out a case because the tech violated the law.

As to your question, I would say it is not the responsibility of the tech to determine the ownership of the computer. No more than it is the responsibility of the cleaners to make sure you did not shoplift that new suit. This big brother attempt to turn us all into spies for the state is troubling and right out of an Orwell novel.

No I am not in agreement with your views. I personally am totally in agreement with your stance. However, the web site you cited was probably reading too much into the Texas law. And given the declining state of civil liberties in this country, this characterization of the Texas law is beating up on something that is totally marginal in the larger view of things. This is like complaining that your little toe is getting wet, when you are up to your neck in swirling flood waters.