more license talk

An investigative reporter got burned by storm chasers so now he is pushing for a law to license roofers in Texas.

http://www.dallasnews.com/investigations/watchdog/20150115-watchdog-you-and-me.-lets-push-legal-fixes-in-2015.ece

While they are at it they might as well license every occupation. You can't be too safe...

I've got a friend who is a roofer and also licensed builder over by Detroit, Oakland County. He tells me all the time that Michigan statewide licensing, i.e. Builders License, has NO IMPACT at all on specs, workmanship, insurance, etc. etc and damn friggin ETC!

From what he tells me the standards are way lower than un licensed Indiana Andy.

There are several customers in the West Michigan market who go burned by a "licensed, insured, BBB A+ rating") contractor this past year. My father has always insisted that the State of Michigan licensing was a license to steal. Nothing I've seen over the years has contradicted this viewpoint.

Handing over a check and passing a test says nothing about personal integrity, trade competency or business acumen. A low barrier to entry in this state . . .

I'm thinking that we would be better off unlicensed . . . take away that false sense of security for the customer and really force them to do their homework (finding that lowest price) before moving forward with their choice of service provider.

There's requirements, of course, everywhere. And it means as much as ....well mostly nothing I 'd guess. Licensing won't change that. It's basically a tax and harrasment. That's why I say one tax instead of several. One form, instead of several. 1 hour instead of days .

It'd be cheaper and easier for me to just pay $1,500 to the state for "permission" to operate, than the goofiness we now have.

I'm not for licensing. I'm for less pain.... :( The sad truth for the general public is that they believe licensing has some value for them. It is what it is: A Contractor's Tax. Call it what it is. Pay the tax ONCE a year to ONE State Agency and move on.

But let's not pretend it is about protecting anyone

You're for licensure, or you're conservative. Pick one, you can't be both.

Licensure and overbearing code/regulations have not improved roofing anywhere. I was involved with roofers in 42 states thru Kold King, and I'm pretty sure I'm right about that.

It's not about skating by. We are required to have $300,000 GL insurance to do business where we operate. We have $2 million. It's about the slippery slope of putting incompetent pencil-pushers in charge of justifying their existence by making our job more difficult and growing their budget every year.

My stand is thus: Rather than have the goofy, inefficient and endlessly worthless system that we have in Indiana, either go with ONE statewide license, or be done with this hodge podge system of fundraising we now have.

According to a couple of guys who were actively posting here years ago, duking it out really, (They were calling each other rump rangers) lol RCAT was perennially pushing for licenses and perennially getting voted down (in general elections maybe?) Kind of a "standing wave" of argumentation over there.