Government promotes inequity; free markets reduce it

Local progressives often contend that business and capitalism are the root of our culture’s extreme income and social disparities, and suggest government programs as the remedy. Witness the array of Housing market interventions promoted by city staff and local advocates. This approach is upside down, suggests Andy Kessler in the Wall Street Journal, noting that it’s misguided government policies that cause these inequities in the first place.

Public schools are controlled by teachers unions. Covid proved that. Forget learning; they push students along to graduation rather than teach them the skills to capture life’s opportunities. We know public schools have failed because more than half of new students at community colleges require remedial courses in Math, English or both.

Occupational licensing is a nice way to say job restriction. Around 1,100 occupations, involving close to a quarter of U.S. workers, require licenses. For doctors and lawyers this might make sense, but for many low-skilled jobs, it’s a huge barrier and a root of inequality. Hair braiding in Mississippi used to require 300 hours of training and a license in “wigology” until workers fought back.

Land-use restrictions might actually be a bipartisan effort to drive up home prices—but progressives have been heaping on the regulations. Try getting a natural-gas hookup in many California cities. The California Energy Commission’s solar mandate adds $9500 to the cost of the average new home. 

Read the whole thing here.

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