Looks like SCOTUS may have just struck down most state regulatory boards. Good for them.
22 thoughts on “An End To Restraint Of Trade?”
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Looks like SCOTUS may have just struck down most state regulatory boards. Good for them.
Comments are closed.
Two thoughts-
First, I always assumed these were more of a revenue source than anything else. So taxes will go up somewhere else to make up the shortfall.
Second, I wonder about the implications for teacher certification. My own experience getting certified strongly inclined me to believe the process was meant to keep out actually qualified teachers.
No, it’s not a revenue source. It’s a way to keep lower-price competition out of the market. It is a source of campaign donations, though.
Funny thing Jeff, College Teachers do NOT need to be certified and they teach the most complicated curriculum.
Yep, I was a college STEM teacher, PhD plus 5 years teaching at a highly regarded university, looking to teach in a public school. Had to take Ed 101 to get certified, I kid you not. The prof was a good sport about it, he’d often ask me to add to what he was saying.
Those cert programs make a heck of a lot of money for colleges. One place I investigated cost $20,000 and took 2 years. I lucked out, found a university where it took 2 summers and 1 regular semester class and cost me about $6000. If you’re a grown-up with mortgage and kids, it’s not easy to jump through the hoops.
Jeff,
when I tried to become a Substitute Teacher here in NC, by the County Offices reckoning, I had TOO much time teaching adults technical subjects to be a Grade School Sub. But I didn’t have ENOUGH teaching background to be a Sub in the Middle or High Schools,
It seems like an odd hole to have in your quals guidelines to me.
“I had TOO much time teaching adults technical subjects to be a Grade School Sub. But I didn’t have ENOUGH teaching background to be a Sub in the Middle or High Schools”
You mean you couldn’t come up with a number greater than five and less than three? Your lack of imagination proves your inadequacy as a teacher of technical subjects, for sure!
“It seems like an odd hole to have in your quals guidelines to me.”
That’s a feature, not a bug. Your logical thinking may be another indication that you’re not cut out to teach the youth of today. 😉
Which is why the Supreme Court got involved. Regulatory agencies made up of those who are regulated have erected barriers to entry that protect them from competition. The anti-trust practices create enforceable monopolies and oligopolies, for all intents and purposes.
It’s all another fun version of crony capitalism, honestly.
I hadn’t come across this system before, passing legislation, I thought, was a role of elected government.
What do you mean?
We’ve got regulatory boards here, but they’re limited to (at least as far as I’ve ever noticed) disciplining the members of their own profession, not defining the scope of that profession, a role of government.
Federal regulatory agencies have, under the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946, the power to issue rules having the force of law. Most of these agencies are under the executive branch, though some are independent of any branch of government (e.g. the FCC). They have the power to make rules, adjudicate violations, and levy penalties. In other words, they combine the functions of the three branches of government.
I work for one of these, and, like all of my fellow employees, was sworn in under an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States. Nowhere in the Constitution is Congress given the power to delegate the authority to create laws, nor is it given the power to put executive and judiciary authority in anyone else’s hands. Yet it has done so. I feel like my employment is a breach of my oath of employment.
Passing legislation is the role of elected officials. However, administrative law allows regulatory boards and bureaucrats to enact regulations which usually have the same effect as laws. In the case of the Internal Revenue Service, they even have their own courts. It’s very convenient for the government but not so good for the citizens.
In the case of the Internal Revenue Service, they even have their own courts.
Good Lord.
Welcome to America! If you still want to come, that is, after learning this…
Not quite a straight knockout, but it sounds like a number of regulatory boards are now vulnerable to legal challenges from anyone they deny a license to do their chosen business.
I think that depends on how the boards are revamped. In places like In states like Alabama or Virginia they’ll probably make some good changes, but in California the process will probably go like this:
Official: “Okay, who should we put on the state _______ board?” [medical, cosmetology, architecture, civil engineering, etc]
Panelist A: “A Social Justice Warrior!”
Panelist B: “Who is an environmental activist!”
Panelist C: “And part of an oppressed minority!”
Panelist D: “Who is of course LGBT!”
Panelist E: “And undocumented!”
Panelist F: “And a refugee from climate change!”
Panelist G: “Who isn’t a Jew!”
Wow.
Don’t the Bar Association and AMA have quasi-regulatory functions? Not to mention building codes… I suspect the likely outcome is minor tweaks followed by regulatory capture but we will see.
The bar and the AMA can sanction their members, but they don’t regulate per se. Building codes aren’t written by contractors trying to restrict competition, and they don’t require licensing to implement. These regulatory boards are a different kind of animal.
The problem I have with building codes is the expense to get a copy in many jurisdictions. A few years ago I tried to look up local building codes and couldn’t find any options other than spending thousands of dollars to buy a copy. The expense to simply find the rules that apply to a business strikes me as another barrier to competition in the field.
Try working to these codes that are interpreted by the inspector, it can get worse in a hurry. Did I mention impact fees?
They may not be written by contractors to restrict competition, but they are definitely written by people restricting building that might give them competition or lower their perceived property values. It can take months to years for some permits (from experience) for very little discernible reason. We can properly build an agricultural building for ~2/3 the cost of a permitted structure, and save months in the process.
Different kind of animal OK. Harmless, H— No.
Ok, maybe I’m missing it, but…
In most (all, I think?) states you can’t practice medicine without a license, and the licensing body may not be independent for these purposes (thus not immune from anti-trust under this ruling?).
Yes, medical licensing appears subject to legal challenge under this ruling.
Before anyone panics about unregulated doctors, claiming a degree or certification you don’t have would remain simple actionable fraud. We are in a truly sorry shape if people can’t ask about qualifications.