The federal government is drowning in a sea of red ink, with deficits in the past two years—about $6 trillion between them—the highest on record and uncontrolled deficits projected as far as the eye can see. Americans are starting to feel the pain of an economy awash in federal spending, which includes the highest inflation in 40 years. Typically, the political debates about this issue have focused on questions such as whether billionaires are taxed enough, whether the government spends too much on national defense, or whether new spending initiatives will be fully paid for with new taxes. These debates miss the factors that drive the problem. Federal fiscal policy will remain unstable until Congress corrects critical policy miscalculations made between 1965
and 1972, especially in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
Regulation is pervasive in the United States and touches nearly every aspect of Americans’ lives. The labels on breakfast foods, the flow rate of water in the shower, and the fuel efficiency of cars are all regulated by the federal government. Regulations at the state and local levels affect whether Americans can obtain certain jobs with a government permission slip called a license, whether local pharmacists can write prescriptions for simple medications, and whether hospitals can add beds to their facilities. Additionally, the amount of regulation in the United States has grown steadily over time, a process known as regulatory accumulation. Each year new rules get added to the lawbooks, adding pages of new requirements. Yet typically few rules are removed to
offset the growth. Thus, the regulatory environment grows more complex and omnipresent each year.
Today, it is hard to justify requiring licenses for beauty services in New Hampshire. Consumers have access to much more information about the reputation of service providers than when these licensing laws were written. Online reviews provide a substantially lower-cost alternative to inform consumers about provider reputation than licensing. This proposed bill is an important first step toward recognizing this fact, but it is also time to more carefully reassess the costs of licensing in the beauty industry more broadly.
With the difficulty of finding available workers in state, forcing new residents to complete arbitrary hurdles to begin working seems counter to common sense. Allowing occupational licenses to easily transfer across state lines increases worker mobility. New Hampshire can look to other states, such as Iowa and Missouri, for guidance on how to help alleviate persistent labor market vacancies with licensing reform.
