Time to Rein in Massage Therapists?

My opponent - the incumbent - for District 76 is now proposing that we require massage therapists get licensure, rather than simple certification, for their profession.

http://www.fox21online.com/news/plan-would-require-license-wisconsin-massage-therapists

According to the article, Berceau's bill "would require certain training standards for massage therapists and body workers, in addition there'd be a state examining board." Excellent - another "board" for taxpayers to pay for and fund. All in the name of protecting you from your massage therapist.

This is really where the difference between my own view of government, and those of many of our current legistlators (including my opponent), becomes crystal clear. I am for a small, limited government. Most of our current legislators favor a large, bureaucratic, intruding government. I don't believe government needs to protect you from your massage therapist. They do.

Our State Assembly does not need to be wasting valuable time, resources, and hard-earned taxpayer dollars debating and passing such nonsense. The next thing you know we'll be requiring state registration for interior designers! Oops, that's right - we already do.

A physical therapist is quoted in the article warning that "someone can read a book on massage, open a business and provide a massage and consumers don’t know the difference." GASP!!! Well, if the massage stinks they will. And then they will take their future business elsewhere. That's how the free market works. I'm just not seeing a legitimate State interest in making sure I don't suffer the consequences of a bad massage.

But there are some big fans of licensure, surely. Typically they are the people already trained and/or licensed in a field. You see, licensure creates barriers to entry. And barriers to entry restrict supply. And restricted supply leads to higher wages and earnings for the licensed suppliers. ReasonTV has a great video on this.

The article states, "Massage therapists like Ostendorf see another benefit, burnishing their image and weeding out bad actors." But the market can and does already perform these same functions. It's just another example of the ever expanding nature of government. As Thomas Jefferson famously wrote, "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground."