As Economy Reopens, a Push to Rethink Regulations
“When you have a regulation in place for several decades, the public justification is health and safety, of course, but most of the reason it exists is protectionism, rent seeking-type behavior,” says Jarrett Dieterle, resident senior fellow at R Street Institute, a free-market think tank.
Given the nature of outbreaks, when hot spots can occur anywhere, Dieterle says it makes sense to allow nurses to practice if they’re licensed in another state, to allow skilled labor to go where it’s most needed. (ALEC has drafted model legislation that would waive tax reporting and withholding requirements for out-of-state workers who relocate in response to disasters.)
“Any time there’s a shock and you’re really forced to think about what most benefits health and safety,” Dieterle says, “the laws that have no real benefit but are just benefiting some group, those are the ones you get rid of first and need to think about whether they should be removed permanently.”
