What will Come Next?
Marcus Pierce, Certified Master Farrier, North Carolina
 

posted August 7, 2015
 
With the economy in bad shape, and not looking any better any time soon. With government leaders that leans towards socialism. With our schools teaching that capitalism is evil. An army of young kids march in New York to bring down this Great country. We can expect our local, state and federal government to add even more rules and regulations to steal what is left of our freedom.
    
 It can only happen if we let it, so why do we let it?  We as farriers can expect the socialists in our profession to once again rise up and start and try and get the state to regulate us with state license. In North Carolina we have even licensed the barber, now that is nuts. Now the Auto Body Trade is next to face state licensing. The nut cases claim it will help people who have been ripped off by repair shops and insurance companies who recommend the shops. (Funny I was thinking the insurance companies was already regulated by the state) More regulation never makes things better, it always make things worse. It will only increase costs, limit competition,( now this is the thing they really want because for one reason or the other they can’t compete  in the real world without government help) and it will never increase the quality of service or work provided. It will do just the opposite, because of less competition. Licensing an occupation typically is associated with a 15 percent wage increase for members of that trade due to lake of competition that the licensing creates. Along with these come higher prices for consumers. 

 
Along with all of this comes a state licensing board that will have the power to let you work in your trade or not! It will have power over the way you work at the trade and how and when you apply your trade. More rules and regulations that will cost you even more money. 

Also… the elite members of the trade that are in the click, will have the power and be police, judge and jury when anybody has a complaint about you (I know you have never had a consumer mad at you.)  After two or three complaints the trade member will be fined, and after several more they will be shut down. Look, just another way for the elite members to get rid of even more competition, or at best… cost you more money. Just another way for some farriers to get rid of another farrier they don’t like or judge them as not as good as they think they personally are. So the elite farrier will set the standard over the rest of the trade. The consumer will not have a voice.
    
Government control and licensing makes the perfect environment for being lazy and less productive. A strong economy with good and strong competition makes us work for what we get and lets the best rise to the top from a strong free market place.
    
Freedom is an atmosphere and environment for growth, how tragic is the loss of a free trade when we let a few people ruin it with too much government.

The BWFA has always supported everyone in our trade not just the power mad elite, that need help to keep their work by keeping out anyone they believe not to be as good as they are. Ralph Casey has been in front of this from day one, fighting to keep our trade free, so a farrier can work hard and can rise or fall based on their own ability, not what a board or elite group has to say in how we do our work or run our business.
 The BWFA will try and help a farrier do his 
(or her) work but not try and tell him it must be done this way or that. 
Thank you BWFA for being there 
and a BIG thanks to Ralph for his endless hours of work promoting the BWFA in the “good ole days”

Marcus Pierce, Master Farrier and TESTER
Member since 1990
Past Member of the BWFA Board of Directors
Past President of the NC S.H.O.E. Chapter
Indian Trail, North Carolina
704-753-4576 
dpierce926@aol.com