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Opinion
Jul. 03, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

EDITORIAL: Fighting for economic freedom

If the captains of industry could be counted upon to champion free markets and competition, we'd all have a lot less government intrusion in our lives. Alas, businesses too often seek out government regulation to protect their profit margins. And lawmakers are all too willing to go along, growing their budgets, hiring more bureaucrats, raising taxes and placing new restraints on economic freedom -- all to spare the public from lower costs and some made-up harm.

Over the years, the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm, has not only shined a light on laws and licensure cabals established to eliminate competition in certain fields, it has fought to kill them in court. On Tuesday, the organization scored another big win when a federal judge struck down a Connecticut law restricting the use of the title "interior designer."

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    • Interior design firms have been wildly successful in establishing industry cartels. Nearly half the states -- including Nevada -- require citizens to go through a costly, time-consuming certification and licensing process before they can legally work as an interior designer. The regulations exist solely to discourage talented, hard-working citizens from swiping the business of the folks who've already gone to the expense and trouble of gaining licensure.

    Which means, if you've got a good eye for colors and you've advised anyone in Nevada on how to add some pop to that spare bedroom, but don't have an interior designer's license, you've broken the law.

    In Connecticut, people could work as interior designers without a license, but they couldn't call themselves one. If they did, they could be fined $500 and imprisoned for up to a year. To qualify for a chance at taking the two-day licensing exam, an applicant needed six years of related education and experience.

    The Institute for Justice, representing three unlicensed decorators, successfully argued that the law was unconstitutional because it restricted commercial speech -- citizens were denied the right to accurately describe their own profession.

    Among the institute's previous cases: challenging Louisiana's licensing of florists, Oklahoma's licensing of casket sellers and the District of Columbia's regulation of hair braiders. Those licensing laws -- and scores of others across America -- have been put in place to deny Americans the ability to make a living in their field of choice.

    It's shameful that so many state legislators embrace the political support and campaign contributions that come with their protectionist laws. But it's even worse that so many courts have ruled "state and local governments may concoct any scheme they want to promote their friends' economic interests at the expense of consumers and would-be entrepreneurs," the institute said.

    Congratulations to the Institute for Justice on an important victory in its principled fight. We hope it has many more successes.

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    Designer 7 wrote on July 08, 2009 03:28 PM: Michael:

    The actual reality is that what the Interior Design schools are teaching is a sub-set of architecture.

    Very few Interior Design students have a clue as to what is involved in sophisticated "interior decoration" and to dismiss it as pillow fluffing only shows your ignorance.

    Just because you studied CAD and Codes doesn't make you are an Interior Designer, no matter what your NCIDQ certificate may say.


    Report abuse

    Bruce Goff wrote on July 06, 2009 07:56 PM: I do wish that the IJ has spent just another half hour researching the Nevada law as it actually opened up work to Interior Designers. The law created a new title called registered Interior designer (so no one lost the title they were used to) and gave them some of the work that the architects had kept for themselves. It opened up choices for the public and did not remove any. The goal of the individual interior designers in Nevada who joined together 15 years ago was to ensure that they could work, not to take anything away from those that do not choose to become Registered. Nevada is a model state for how you can actually create a new profession that expands the public’s options. In no way is this a burden. Interior Designers that chose not to become registered have the same title we all have the same ability to work as they did before the law was passed. Again no burden on the public or the tax payers as the state board is self funded. The architecture laws had been written early on in the last century and did not reflect what UNLV and UNR educate our students to do. The revised law reflected this change.
    The editorial is incorrect with regard to Nevada. There is no requirement to become an Interior Designer, there is however, an option to become a Registered Interior Designer and take on more responsibility. Options VS requirements.


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    Michael D. Noon wrote on July 04, 2009 02:50 PM: You do not understand the difference between interior decoration and Interior Design (note the caps) Interior Design has evolved to include design elements of Health, Safety, and Welfare, code compliance, complex specifications and details, and the production skills to interact with architecture and engineering trades. It is FAR beyond staging furniture and picking out pillows, or having a "flair". Lest you doubt it, please complete the workload of a BS degree in Interior Design,and pass the relevant certification exam. Beyond that, Interior Designers are quite capable of doing the flair and decoration, but few relatively few interior decorators are capable of producing the required work of Interior Designers - which includes analysis, code compliance, specifications,and construction drawings and details. In the future, please interview some other sources, and consider other viewpoints beyond the legal mouthpiece of the Institute for Justice. You obviously do not understand the issue here.


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    Mike wrote on July 03, 2009 04:38 PM: Someone should refer this organization to the taxi, limo and bus industry in Nevada... These big cab companies need someone to break up their monopoly so they actually have to service their customers.


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    HELEN WEILS wrote on July 03, 2009 03:41 PM: YEEEHAH!! MY GIRL SARAH RESIGNED TODAY
    AS GOV. HOPEFULLY TO RUN FOR PREZ AND
    KICK THE MESSIAH OUT ON HIS KEISTER.
    SHE UNDERSTANDS THE PROBLEMS OF MIDDLE AMERICANS, SMALL BUSINESSES, AND OVERBURDENED TAXPAYERS. GO SARAH!!!


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    Kent wrote on July 03, 2009 01:27 PM: Not all the lawyers are bad guys. A precious few are actually good guys. Patrick, I hope your one of the good ones. And from what I've seen, the lawyers with this group are some of the good guys.


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    john delaney wrote on July 03, 2009 10:22 AM: Now, if they want to take on something of REAL consequence, have them (and the Landmark Legal fund, Thomas-Moore, etc..) take on the Messiah, Barak NOBAMA on the massive and un-constitutional taking over of the entire private sector of the economy. Thats a big concern of mine


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    patrick wrote on July 03, 2009 10:04 AM: The "institute for justice"?

    Ain't this a bunch of lawyers? I thought the lawyers were the bad guys; I'm so confused.


    Report abuse

    CybScryb wrote on July 03, 2009 09:46 AM: One of the better editorials in the RJ for a very long time. More Vin please!


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    Pat wrote on July 03, 2009 09:10 AM: Yeah, I think of the pesky government and the $110,000,000,000+ a year spent to protect our access to cheap gasoline that we waste to expeditiously. Then there are the men and women in the military that lose their life, the minds or their limbs to protect the production and shipping of cheap oil. Oh, there are the families of these brave men and women who have so much to loose.

    At least the R-J reaps millions from the taxpayers of Nevada!


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