Articles

As I wrote in the summer of 2018 on CD, I’ve probably created and posted more than 3,000 graphics on CD, Twitter, and Facebook including charts, graphs, tables, figures, maps, and Venn diagrams over the last 15 years. Of all of those graphics, I don’t think any has gotten more attention, links, re-Tweets, re-posts, and mentions than previous versions of the chart above, which was once referred to as “the Chart of the Century.”

From books to series, from movies to political speeches, the mantra goes: capitalism is to blame for all our ills and defending it is heroic.

Until the 1960s, public employees were organized like lawyers, doctors and other voluntary professional associations. They had no legal right to compel government to enter into contracts. Many already enjoyed civil service protections, and government work was generally sleepy, not ruthless. But public employees had become a huge voting bloc, and leaders of public employee associations wanted power over how government was run.

Today more Americans than ever are working in occupations that require an occupational license. The increase in occupational regulations has called into question whether this practice is in the best interest of the U.S. workforce.

A new report by the Archbridge Institute finds that occupational licensing creates unnecessary barriers that exacerbate skilled worker shortages and hinder opportunity and prosperity.

Occupational licensing affects more than 20 percent of workers in the United States. The extent of occupational licensing greatly differs across states. From both a research and public policy standpoint, it is important to have a comprehensive measure of occupational licensure across states and occupations.

Thomas Hobbes is not usually considered a defender of freedom, since his work Leviathan begins with an individualistic interpretation of human beings and their behavior but concludes by advocating a sovereign with absolute power. The lack of restrictions on the power of the sovereign makes him an unsuitable reference for many lovers of liberty; however, this popular perception of Hobbes is not universal in the academy.

In Arizona, a new study finds that easing occupational licensing requirements is boosting the state's economy. It's long past time after years of increasing difficulty for people seeking work. "Nearly thirty percent of American jobs require a license today, up from less than five percent in the 1950s," the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) noted in a 2018 report. "For some professions, occupational licensing is necessary to protect the public against legitimate health and safety concerns. But in many situations, the expansion of occupational licensing threatens economic liberty."