Beware the Unlicensed Blogger

One of my pet bugaboos is occupational licensure. The Reason Foundation just released a study examining occupational licensure laws, and found much to be depressed about.

Do you want to be a fortune teller in Maryland? Your future better include a license from the state. How about being a hair braider in Mississippi? You'll need 300 to 1,500 hours of training and government permission. Want to sell flowers in Louisiana? Only licensed florists can do that. And almost every state requires certification if you want to move furniture and hang art while calling yourself an interior designer.
The complete (PDF) study has an appendix on the "most outrageous" licensed occupations. In addition to the ones mentioned above: God help you if you are an unlicensed chimney sweep in Vermont, a projectionist in Massachusetts, or a quilted clothing manufacturer in Utah.

New Hampshire, the allegedly live-free-or-die state, is number four on the list of jobs requiring a license.

Full disclosure: Mrs. Salad is a New Hampshire Registered Dietitian, was involved in the lobbying to get the licensing legislation passed, and sat on the licensing board for awhile. She's (um) well aware of my view that all that was (um) misguided. "Dietician" [sic] is in the report's "most outrageous" listing, although (admittedly) most states do it.