Moving-firm law hurts competition

June 26, 2013 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

The Lexington Herald-Leader had an editorial yesterday urging Kentucky lawmakers to repeal the state’s anti-competitive licensing law for moving companies, and focusing on our lawsuit on behalf of Raleigh Bruner. Excerpt:

[U]nder Kentucky law, anyone may challenge the application and force the newcomer to prove there’s a need for additional moving services.

It’s hard to figure out how this process serves the convenience or necessity of anyone but movers who are already in business and who, as it turns out, are the only parties who have challenged applications….

There’s an enormous amount of talk among politicians about making Kentucky a more business-friendly state. This often involves things like lowering taxes and eliminating regulation, which are complex and can involve serious competing interests, like ensuring funding for education or protecting workers and the environment.

However, repealing anti-competitive, anti-business and anti-consumer requirements, like insisting that a business essentially get permission from its competitors to operate, is a no-brainer.

Read the rest…

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