Mercedes Brockman, co-owner of Beyond Appearance Salon and Spa in Marysville, CA said that the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology threatening her stylists with loss of license if they did not stop working caused five to leave and never return. Brockman and co-owner Shenise Evans determined to defy state threats to keep from going bankrupt during the Corona shutdown.
The state’s intimidation damaged Brockman and Evans’ business by intimidating those employees, their most valuable assets.
Three blocks away Randy Mitchell cuts hair at his Upper Cuts Barbershop. Mitchell is the only Yuba-Sutter business owner cited by the police for staying open and has also received robo-call threats from the state along with personal calls from State Board employees.
Mitchell informed the state that it can take his barber shop’s license and his personal license since he no longer recognizes their authority nor will pay fees to them in order to support his family.
The state, the county and the city have violated Mitchell’s Constitutional rights to the free use of his property. And the state uses work permits as a means to control, extort money and intimidate licensees.
The State of California is nationally notorious for its excessive use of permits, licenses and fees to work. Over two million Californians must apply for permission to work in over 200 occupations from one of 42 government bureaus and boards. In the process, job seekers may have to spend thousands of dollars and spend years in government-mandated classes.
The State of California spends more than quarter of a billion dollars annually to regulate and license occupations ranging from tree trimmers to animal trainers. Funding comes from fees and citations issued by the licensing boards, and significant portions of licensing board budgets are used for enforcement (e.g. audits, sting operations) of board policies.
Licensing often requires submitting fingerprints, paying application fees, and documentation of fulfilling certain educational and/or work experience outlined by board policies. For some occupations, the educational and work requirements may take years and thousands of dollars; for others, individuals may just need to submit fingerprints and a fee.
What ever happened to laissez-faire capitalism? Lasses-faire is a French term meaning ‘let do.’ It is an economic system in which transactions between private parties are absent of any form of government intervention such as regulation and subsidies. Laissez-faire embraces the following principles; The individual is the basic unit in society; The individual has a natural right to freedom; Markets should be competitive, a rule that the early advocates of laissez-faire always emphasized. The state is a free-market crusher.
The state claims for example that it “protects consumers by regulating the construction industry through policies that promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the public in matters relating to construction.” Similar language is used by other licensing boards, such as the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, which claims to “ensure the health and safety” of Californians by “enforcing the laws of the beauty industry.”
The fact is that their fees and licenses do not guarantee quality services nor the health and safety of consumers. Being licensed does not guarantee a good teacher, stylist or painter. The sickening aspect is that the state actually sends it’s bootlicks to set-up stings to entrap hard-working people.
There are already a myriad of laws and regulations providing recourse for consumers if damaged, exploited or defrauded by an occupation. And there are professional organizations that exist to offer training and promote best practices.
On average, other states license less than half the occupations California does. There is no evidence proving that state licensing protects the public or enhances public safety. State licensing of businesses is about control and collecting money for enforcement. It undermines freedom, keeps prices high and reduces competition from newcomers.
The Dhillon Law Group filed a suit to stop the state’s recent harassment of barbers, salon and spa professionals for working during the Corona shutdown. Governor Newsom stopped his bullying nonsense the day before his day in court. These thousands of hard-working professionals should hire the Dhillon Group to set them free from being ruled by the state altogether.
(Get Lou’s podcast at “No Hostages Radio” and his articles at nohostagesradio.com)
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