I have to admit most NPR shows are, to put it gently, not to my liking. However, they are now exposing the lunacy of occupational licensing, and I commend them for this audio segment and article.

Click here or below to listen (4 minutes):

[audio:http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2012/06/20120621_me_08.mp3]

They rightly note that members of many professional organizations are simply using occupational licensing to fight off honest competition—even to the point of banning hair braiding without a license. The gall of these people is astounding.

“Why It’s Illegal To Braid Hair Without A License” Jestina Clayton learned how to braid hair as a girl growing up in Sierra Leone. When she was 18, she moved to America. Got married, had a couple kids, went to college. When she graduated from college, she found that the pay from an entry-level office job would barely cover the cost of child care. So she decided to work from her home in Utah and start a hair-braiding business. She found a little niche, braiding the hair of adopted African children. To find new business, she posted an ad on a local Web site. Then, one day, she got an email from a stranger. “It is illegal in the state of Utah to do any form of extensions without a valid cosmetology license,” the e-mail read. “Please delete your ad, or you will be reported.”

Read the entire article here.