When governments force specific terms of employment on businesses, they prevent individuals and businesses from negotiating the terms that best suit their circumstances.
In one city, the government imposes land-use regulations that make those types of housing difficult or impossible to build. In another, property owners have much more freedom to subdivide their land and build the housing they want.
If restaurants truly tried to levy exorbitant prices that were beyond their customers’ willingness to pay, they would lose business. This phenomenon has been witnessed time and time again.
Nationally, the share of jobs requiring a government license has grown from about 5% in the 1950s to roughly 22% today, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.
When regulators think that they know better than the market, the result is that jobs become less accessible, stripping people of valuable opportunities to develop their skills and build wealth.
