Michigan losing nearly $750 million due to occupational licenses

News from Michigan today –

“Michigan could put more people to work and add $746.2 million to state and local government treasuries by reforming or eliminating occupational licensure mandates — dwarfing the $195 million governments here currently collect in licensing fees.”

This is based on a study coming out of a Massachusetts based nonprofit.  The findings are not that different from what we have found in Nebraska. Licensing is a barrier to innovation and productivity – and Michigan is no different from Nebraska in this regard.

Thankfully, Nebraska has a process where these licenses will be reviewed and hopefully some of the unnecessary regulations can be removed to help the state’s economy and entrepreneurship.

I’m not sure what the dollar figure is for Nebraska, but I am certain if we continue to reform and eliminate our occupational licenses, we will see more people working and a more economically prosperous Nebraska for everyone.