You probably know the maxim “even a broken clock is right twice a day.” The earliest instance we have of that maxim is from London’s The Spectator, a daily publication during the years 1711–1712. Just as today’s coffee shops provide free WiFi to bring in customers, so London’s coffee shops shared copies of The Spectator to boost revenues. (We think we are modern, but we behave the same as we did 300 years go.)
Free market advocates are the opposite of a broken clock. We are correct all the time, and maybe twice a generation the general population—controlled and controlling—adopts our conclusions. We saw this recently with the anticipated relaxation of the state’s licensing requirements for nurses. First, some background.
Radical libertarians are opposed to state-mandated licensing, even for brain surgeons. That position is a bit outside my comfort zone, but far too often entrenched interests use licensing to a) keep competitors out, b) keep wages high, c) and ensure a revenue stream for the licensing authority—all with the result that consumers pay more for what they need or want. Within Montgomery County there are licenses for movie theaters, amusement parks, rental housing, restaurants, private schools (!), swimming pools, and a whole lot more. You can tell this is nonsense by asking yourself the following question: When you went to the AFI Silver Theatre to watch a rerun of Dr. Strangelove, did you check if the establishment had a license? Probably not, and the same is true for any business or service you patronize. A license is required for almost every transaction we do, even though we the consumers get no benefit and have to pay higher prices.
Back to nursing. Anyone who has been in a hospital can only admire the nurses. Their job is difficult, the patients are difficult, the management is difficult, and, in addition, the barrier to get a license is very high. The state government has boatloads of regulations for nursing, including requirements for merely applying to take a licensing exam. Barriers such as this have contributed greatly to the shortage of nurses in Montgomery County. Take a look at the unreal number of openings for nurses at Suburban Hospital.
The powers in charge have finally come to the conclusion that these exam requirements have nothing to do with nursing, and efforts are under way to modify or eliminate them.
Marc Elrich and the county’s evolved DEI leadership frame this liberalization as a benefit to the Latino immigrant community, some of whom are already skilled nurses. Nonsense. This liberalization is a benefit to everyone, and the more we do to break down the maze of state-mandated regulations, approvals, certifications, and evaluations, the better off we will all be.
Regardless, free-market advocates, note the time on our liberal, compassionate, and never-broken clocks. Maybe on this day the local DEI orthodoxy has started to realize what we have known since John Locke: the only way to get resources to the underserved is to remove regulatory obstacles.
