One aspect of property rights that is often overlooked is the freedom to create material values. If we are not free to create material values–property–then the right to property does not exist.
Human life requires material values. An individual who is not free to create the values that his life requires is denied the means by which to sustain and enhance his life.
Occupational licensing serves as one example. Occupational licensing requires an individual to obtain the government’s approval before he can engage in a licensed profession. In most states, if an individual wants to cut hair, he must obtain a license from the state. And to do so, he must attend classes–often more than a thousand hours–pay outrageous fees, and then pass the government’s test.
Certainly, there are skills and knowledge that are required to be a competent barber. But that is true of virtually every profession. But jumping through the hoops set up by government doesn’t make one competent. It merely demonstrates that one is good at jumping through hoops.
If an individual wants to cut hair (or offer any service) and others are willing to pay him for doing so, that is nobody’s business but their’s. Each is free to engage in the transaction or abstain. Each is free to act on his own judgment.
But occupational licensing makes individual judgment irrelevant. If an individual honestly believes that he can competently cut hair, but fails to obtain government approval, he becomes a criminal if he offers barber services. And in some states, consumers also become criminals for hiring unlicensed professionals.
Occupational licensing serves as a barrier to entering a profession. It harms consumers, and it harms the entrepreneurial poor. If an individual cannot afford the time and expense of meeting the government’s mandates, he is barred from the profession of his choosing. He is prevented from creating values. He is denied the freedom to be responsible for his own well-being.