Written by Alyce Auman
The government overreach is reaching a sickening level. The braiding of hair is something that moms, sisters, girlfriends have done for each other for years. Pointing out the obvious, it is an activity that is safe; it does not require any dyes, chemicals, heating or other things that other types of hair styling can. I oppose needing a license from the government for those as well, but just pointing out the difference in safety.
PREVENTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Hair braiding is found in all cultures of the world, including Asia, Africa, Egypt, Europe and the Americas. In the United States hair braiding is for the most part, an African American thing. Hair braiding is not something that just anybody knows how to do. This is something that is unique and everybody that I have talked to that has it done prefers if their hair is done by someone who has been doing this for years. In order to abide by government regulations, if a person were to have the talent and interest in providing braiding services to people in their community and have their own business doing so, many states require a license. The states that don’t require a license are Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Utah, Virginia and Washington. Five states, Florida, Minnesota, Oregon, South Carolina, and Texas, require a license that takes about 40 hours of coursework obtain, which is way less than other states. Ten states including Alabama, Nevada, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana and Oklahoma, and Washington DC have more stringent requirements for licensing, but do recognize hair braiding as a separate occupation. In the remaining states, a full hairstylist or cosmetology license is required. In the state of New York where I live, you are required to get 300 hours of training (which you pay for), take required exams (which you pay for), and then get a New York State hair braiding license (which you pay for). Not everyone has all this money and time to devote to go to school to learn how to do something that they have been doing for years. The state is the only part of the equation that benefits.
Hair braiding is safe to do, I can’t believe this is even a topic of discussion. Any sort of government issued “permission” to do something that would contribute to society and the free market is an unnecessary barrier to entrepreneurship. Who benefits? The state. This licensing requirement is just a way of the government receiving money, keeping competition down, prices and profits for a select group up.
What is this Libertarian’s viewpoint and suggestion? A recent report that was prepared by the Department of the Treasury Office of Economic Policy, the Council of Economic Advisers, and the Department of Labor, shows that existing licensing requirements are overly burdensome, and are out of sync with the skills needed for the job. Many trainings and exams are completely out of touch with what happens during the real job itself. The solution is simple: force and compulsion are unnecessary and undesirable in the attempt to create policies which will protect consumers and ensure quality professional services. Voluntary membership associations, ratings and review services, competing accreditors are more than capable of furnishing the information consumers want and need to make safe, smart decisions. Consumer protection requires a competitive marketplace and a legal environment that does not place undue burdens on the right to earn a living.
CULTURE INTRUSION
I’d like to point out several reasons why licensing hair braiding is also morally wrong and intrusive into the African American population’s individual rights. First, I think it’s important to realize the roots where hair braiding has come from. Historically, in Africa, braids could be used as a way to express one’s religion, kinship, status, age and ethnicity. When Africans were brought to America in the slave era, they had their identities stolen from them in many ways including the slave owners requiring Africans to shave their heads. As time passed, they were allowed to grow their hair back in, and the slaves felt this was a small thread of a connection to their heritage. African American hair has a different texture than other ethnicities and braiding of the hair is something unique and useful to that race. It allows people to have their own identity as well as maintain a manageable hairstyle. When the government is regulating hair braiders by demanding them to pay all kinds of money in order to obtain a license to perform the service, they are creating an increase in cost of those services by limiting competition. Why are we making it harder for some people to do something as simple as get their hair done? It’s natural and safe. Economics 101 teaches us about supply and demand.
Chris Rock was in a film entitled “Good Hair” where he was inspired to address a question from his daughter “Why wasn’t her hair good?” The movie talks about how African American women have struggled in the past with trying to maintain a hairstyle in America that white people deemed acceptable. In order to accomplish this, they have used chemical relaxers to straighten their hair. Straightening of the hair in this fashion can be dangerous and damaging to the hair and scalp especially if done routinely over long periods of time. That’s not to say I’m against anyone’s free will to do what they want to their own hair, I’m just pointing out the contrast between braiding of hair and other things done to hair that can be dangerous if not done by someone who knows what they are doing. Chris Rock made the point that this was sad to him if it was done only to appease the white culture. I have to ask myself, what is the real reason that the State would want to do such a thing?
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