What is the real reason behind many stupid laws and regulations that are supposedly in "the public interest." They are primarily intended to benefit a certain group or industry. Do we really think, for example, that there would be a public health disaster if hair stylists weren't licensed? Or is it more likely that it is just a way to limit access to the field and keep profits up?

By the way, we may laugh at the laws requiring licensing of fortune tellers, but I can assure you that before we were so brainwashed, people would have laughed at the idea of laws requiring licensing of hair stylists. I know a house cleaner who thinks there should be a law licensing all house cleaners. Why? "Public good" or "safety" will be the excuse. The real point is that he is tired of the cheap cleaners undercutting his price. Licensing would limit access so the "professional" cleaners could keep rates higher.

Now, why do we have a law to stop those crazy unprofessional hair cutters from causing perhaps two hair styling fatalities annually, while we allow sugar to be sold freely? As one of the primary contributors to diabetes, sugar probably causes tens of thousands of deaths. But then there is nobody with a financial interest in outlawing sugar (or they don't have the lobbying power yet). On the other hand, plenty of industries make money from laws that limit access and keep prices up, and they are good at lobbying for laws that "make us safe."

We can drink, smoke, sit on the couch for hours, marry whoever we want and do many other things that are demonstrably more dangerous than most of the things these laws "protect" us from. Why not let people be informed of the risks and make up their own minds? Because it's bad for business. That's why we have stupid laws that are supposed to be good for us, but are really meant as a way to boost profits and power for some special interest group or industry.

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