Occupational Licensing Cuts Help Low Income Families The Most
Rhode Island licenses 72 of 102 occupations studied by the Institute for Justice, far more than most states. Such burdensome licensing mandates hurt lower-income families most and harm economic growth. The workforce of the future will little resemble that of our parents. An approach that openly welcomes the emerging “shared” and “gig” economies, as opposed to a tax and regulation approach, could make an immediate positive impact. If Rhode Island wants to attract millennials and other mobile workers as a vital portion of its future workforce, it must implement major reforms to its current occupational licensing regime, so as to make our state a more opportunity-rich place to call home.
MORE & BETTER: The Center recommends that if significant occupational licensing and regulatory reforms are enacted; more people will be free to engage in more and better jobs, more and better incomes will be earned, more families will be culturally stronger and will remain in tact, more and better businesses will expand or be established, more prosperity will be shared by more Rhode Islanders, and more working people will naturally give our state a better and more stable tax base.
Improving RI’s bottom-ten regulatory climate by repealing occupational licensing mandates means families have the freedom to fulfill their personal dreams.
