In my Carolina Journal commentary published today, I write about two interesting cases of unwarranted regulation and licensing that stifle economic opportunity. Here’s a sample.
The Louisiana monks who faced time in the slammer for selling handmade wooden caskets to support themselves have won a victory in federal court against the protectionist Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.
The licensing board had sought to keep the monks out of the casket-selling business and instead wall off the business for a select group of funeral industry insiders. The complaint? The monks’ simple, modestly priced caskets — which are blessed before delivery — put funeral homes at a disadvantage.
The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit makes great reading for those of us who oppose economic protectionism and cronyism. But a statement on page 16 jumped out at me: “The great deference due state economic regulation does not demand judicial blindness to the history of a challenged rule or the context of its adoption nor does it require courts to accept nonsensical explanations for naked transfers of wealth.”
And that is what too many licensing rules are all about.
