🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <46549@netnews.upenn.edu> yee@mipgsun.mipg.upenn.edu (Conway Yee) writes:

   Ok, I'll bite.  What's the problem?  Licensing merely mandates a minimum
   level of competency.  Many other professions have licensing procedures
   for exactly that reason.  Would you prefer to be treated by a doctor who
   did not have a license to practice medicine?

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  What evidence is there of a problem
that licensing would fix?  Stories about phone company glitches don't
cut it.  Ma Bell is perfectly capable of determining the qualifications
of any programmers it hires, more capable than any govt. agency is
likely to be.  I'd have to be shown numerous documented cases
of unsuspecting individuals or small businesses who got burned because
contract programmers or system damagers turned out to be unqualified.
Even then, one would have to ask whether sensible business practices,
such as checking references and asking around in the community,
couldn't have prevented the problems.

I suspect that NJ is just doing a money and patronage grab in this case.  
These little state licencing agencies collect a steady stream of fees
and provide job slots that political hacks can use to reward their
friends and allies.  Often they are ludicrous and unneccessary.
For example, I have seen state licencing bureaus for watch repairmen.

Don Bashford
bashford@scripps.edu