Jim Graham said: > One reason for graft and buying political favors being so common in > Minneapolis is the requirement that State Licensed Plumbers and Heating > people also be licensed in the City of Minneapolis. General Contractors are > State Licensed and the state law prohibits a City from requiring a different > License. I am sure if General Contractors had to be also City Licensed that > prices would go up dramatically. City Licensed plumbers and heating > contractors get paid considerably more than State Licensed people. This is > another unfair tax on the poorest communities. > > The State Legislature needs to pass a bill, similar to the General > Contractors License, which would prohibit Cities from this practice. Such > practices promote graft and unfairly penalize the poorest of neighborhoods. > If a State Licensed Plumber or Heating Contractor does the work to "Code", > and a City of Minneapolis Inspector inspects it, then why would you need an > additional City License? Unless the City does not have faith in the City > Inspectors? I happen to believe the City Plumbing, Electrical, Building and > all Mechanical Inspectors do a good job, no matter who does the work, so I > think a State License is adequate for any job.
Mark Anderson here: Yes, definitely we should keep all the graft at the State level - require our council members run for state office to make the big bucks! Seriously, Jim is right - there is no reason for two sets of licensure. Of course it would be best if we could eliminate licensing at the State level too. Licensing of professions almost never benefits the consumer. The original statutes may have been written with idealistic aims to protect the innocent consumer. But who runs agencies that regulate the licenses? Obviously the profession itself - because they are the only ones with the expertise to understand who's a good practitioner and who's not. In practice the license becomes a way for the profession to keep their rates up and the riffraff out of their ranks. This hurts the consumer because of higher costs, and keeps many ambitious poor kids out of the profession. Plus of course it contributes to corruption in government. We should kill as much licensure in Minneapolis as possible. The only licensing I know of in Minneapolis is of the construction trades, and of cabbies. Both of these are terrible burdens on the poor. What other licenses are required in Minneapolis ? Mark Anderson Bancroft _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
