In a December 19 post, I discussed the importance of the consumer in the free-market system. When we allow entrepreneurs to test their ideas, be it a product or service, with limited government interference, the result is innovation and lower prices. Consumers vote for these products and services with their pocketbooks. Market economies are known...
In the spirit of #ThrowbackThursday, I thought I would highlight a 1978 article from the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), “The Consumer’s Role,” as it reminds me of an issue the Platte Institute has been working on for the past 3 years. It’s no secret that team members at the Platte Institute are huge supporters...
Yesterday, President Trump held a roundtable on regulatory innovations inviting governors from around the country to share what has been accomplished in their states. Governor Ricketts participated. He reported on the Nebraska Legislature’s work on occupational licensing reform and h ighlighted LB898 from 2016, the “hair braiding bill” that exempted natural hair braiding from cosmetology...
According to a new report published by the Pioneer Institute, the state of Nebraska took $36 million from citizens in occupational licensing fees in 2017. And because of the restrictions that licensing puts on the economy, the state lost $141 million that otherwise would have been a part of Nebraska’s economy. How does this happen? ...
The Platte Institute is distributing a growing list of Nebraska food producers who are able to share their delicacies with more customers thanks to the state’s newly-expanded cottage food law.
This Christmas, discover your favorite Nebraska cottage foods.
One of the great free-market economists of my lifetime, the late Milton Friedman, once said: “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” That, of course, is true in lots of areas of policy, but if what’s happening in Seattle is any indication, increases in...
As a former legislator, I understand (although never enjoyed) political pandering. I’ll admit that sometimes I would say nothing or be very non-committal when a group (especially a group of constituents) wanted me to take a particular position, and I’ll also admit that I likely pandered on occasion to groups that I could do it to in...
This story from The Hill popped up in my news aggregator a little while ago. Sometimes I don’t get stories until a day after they were published… Anyway, the essence of the story is this: Congress and the President have a tentative agreement to give all federal employees 12 weeks of PAID parental leave. Current...
I was at a conference workshop this morning–about “regulatory overreach”–and one of the panelists was legislator form Idaho. This legislator made sure that we all knew what they had done this year–essentially repealing ALL of the regulatory code through a universal sunset process, and then adding a few critical ones back in. Given that most...
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...
Those of us who work with occupational licensing sometimes operate in a bit of an endless loop. You see, we’re not entirely sure that there are very many occupations for which the state should be licensing (granting permission to work). At the same time, we often promote things like “universal recognition” legislation, which would say...
One of the best parts of working at the Platte Institute is helping Nebraskans overcome barriers to opportunity. There are so many people with great ideas for making life better in our state. But often, working people in our state face obstacles to making life better for themselves and others because of laws that were...
It caught my eye that the McCook Farm, Ranch & Hemp Expo took place last week. Horse sales and ag exhibitors were featured alongside expert panels on the cultivation of hemp, a crop that is returning to the ag sector in Nebraska following the 2018 Farm Bill allowing industrial hemp. That might be a surprising...