I generally agree. What most people often don't realise is that a lot of regulations that are allegedly in place to protect to consumer are actually there to prevent established interests.
This is particularly true of licensing. The standards for licensing and the like are often co-opted by the industry/profession being licensed. As such, they use licensing to raise the barrier to entry, effectively limiting competition.
One example that comes to mind is that the aestheticians in Texas at one point were fighting to require people that do threading to get a license. I believe said license would require thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to obtain. Ultimately, there was absolutely nothing about threading the license at all. I am not sure if this law was ever passed, but it is merely on example of licensing works in practice to hurt competition, raise prices, and hurt the consumer.
This is particularly true of licensing. The standards for licensing and the like are often co-opted by the industry/profession being licensed. As such, they use licensing to raise the barrier to entry, effectively limiting competition.
One example that comes to mind is that the aestheticians in Texas at one point were fighting to require people that do threading to get a license. I believe said license would require thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to obtain. Ultimately, there was absolutely nothing about threading the license at all. I am not sure if this law was ever passed, but it is merely on example of licensing works in practice to hurt competition, raise prices, and hurt the consumer.