A License To Live
Sam Sykes ~ 10/29/2024
I’ve made a habit recently of writing about labor and related issues, so I may as well keep on the topic. We all understand that certain jobs require formal education and sometimes, licensure from state, local, or federal governing bodies. That being said, I’ve started to notice that lots of over regulated shitholes like New York and California often make huge money grabs in the licensing racket.
What florists in New York City are going through is what actually brought this issue to my attention. So I might as well start there. NYC loves spending money, but they often have huge cash flow problems. The solution? Go after productive middle-classers in an attempt to squeeze out every possible penny. I saw recently that florists need to pay $210 for a license to sell flowers, with a $10 renewal fee each year for the state, and $80 a year for the city. Now, I know that doesn’t seem like much, but whats the point? Why charge someone selling flowers? Their job is a life and death industry. The license provides no value to the industry, business owner, or consumer, just the government.
Staying with NYC, I looked through the city website and it is insane the amount of jobs that require a license from the city. They charge locksmiths for existing, parking lots for being rented out, and even bingo games. I could not believe they shakedown every bingo game for $18.76 even if it’s for charity or church. Absolute nonsense.
Barbers have one of the most bullshit requirements around. If you cut hair for money without a license, you could face a $300 fine and 3 months in prison for a first offense. They also need to spend nearly 100 bucks a year to retain their licensing. To get a license to cut hair, barbers need to have 1,250 hours of training as an apprentice. Just to bring this into perspective, airline pilots need 1,500 hours of flight time to become commercial pilots. Airplanes are basically fucking missles filled with people and flying over head all the time. It’s crazy that two planes destroyed the World Trade Center, killing nearly 3000 people, and plunged us into war… But the worst a barber could do is Mark Davis. Clearly the stakes are very different.
In California, you need $350 for an application to become a security guard, and $112 a year to renew it. The only qualifications for driving a segway and getting bullied by teenagers is having a receding hairline and huge ass, not some state-run training course and shakedown. California is one of the craziest states, requiring cemetery salespeople, fence builders, tour guides, manicurists, and interior decorators all require some kind of state licensing.
I am picking on New York and California a lot in this one, but licensing requirements plague the entire country. No one thinks that all licensing should be banned, but the constant attacks on the wallets of the working class has got to stop. Pretty soon there will be nothing left for the government to take at the rate they’re going.
