Too Much Licensing Can Hurt Employment

See Florida Interior Designers: A Case Study In Cartels in Forbes by Chip Mellor. Excerpts:

"Nationwide, hard-working individuals who are trying to earn an honest living in the occupation of their choice find that their means of achieving the American Dream are blocked by anti-competitive regulations and insurmountable government-imposed barriers to entry. Forbes aptly described the cartelization effort as The New Unions. How widespread is this problem? Consider this fact: In the 1950s, only 1 in 20 American workers needed the government's permission to work; today, that figure is nearly 1 in 3."

"In Los Angeles, to operate a used bookstore, the government demands that the owner get a permit from the police; record the personal information of everyone who brings in books for exchange or resale, including their names, addresses and book titles; and make this information available to the police. In some cases, the bookstore owner even has to thumbprint patrons who bring in books and file daily reports with the police. All this to merely buy and sell books."