Licensing: an op-ed piece

[KBCraig]

Good Lord... where to begin?

It's too late. I'll tackle this another time. It begs for a line-by-line response. It's a shame the UL doesn't allow online feedback.

Kevin

http://www.unionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=58458

Kathryn Talbert:
Contractors ought to welcome licensing
By KATHRYN TALBERT
Guest Commentary

IN LAST WEEK's New Hampshire Sunday News, fraud and incompetence among home improvement contractors and builders were reported. History tells us that when limited supply exists, a diverse number of people come to meet the demand. All too often the incompetent and the fraudster fill the voids left by a lack of experts in the given field.

Although the professional contractor has the burden of his or her trade obligations, the consumer also has a burden of responsibility. An astute consumer engages in the legwork necessary to find the right contractor and attain realistic expectations as to the cost of a given project. But the consumer should not have to be the expert builder in order to hire one.

Thus, I am puzzled why some representatives of the building industry balk at licensure or any type of regulation. By having little or no regulation of the industry, the overall reputation of our craft becomes devalued in eyes of the public with every fraud reported. The majority of contractors are honest and hardworking. The professionals provide their skills, knowledge and services in exchange for payment. By posing as a legitimate professional, the incompetent or fraud steals not only from the customer, but also from the legitimate builder.

In addition to the lack of regulation is a serious lack of available education in building. Good mentors are about all that exists. Trade unions once held the bar for entrance into the trade; not in modern times. So barring the latter two opportunities, all that exists is higher education, which is seriously lacking in New Hampshire. The only program in the state is at the Manchester Community Technical College and focuses entirely on residential wood frame construction, and only then on basic building techniques. Business management, ethics, commercial construction and project management are not offered. Also, the program offers no night, weekend, evening or even summer classes.

Is the lack of support for continuing education in building trades due to the stereotype of the obnoxious, half-drunken, barely literate builder? I have run across people who seem to think that builders all must behave this way. Most builders do not fit the stereotype.

Regulations abound to control many professions whose practitioners might fleece the public or put them at risk, such as real estate agents, lawyers, doctors, nurses, even hot dog vendors. But incompetence in the building industry goes unchecked while everyone pays. Consumers lose value in properties that are compromised because of improper building or remodeling. They also can lose all their savings or equity. This can translate into loss and increased instability in a community.

An entire community can suffer on large scale projects as well. Often a community must foot the bill to bring a project or building up to minimum code for public safety. A licensing process would allow a venue to record complaints and keep information on serial offenders. Licensing provides a vehicle to correct or weed out incompetence or outright fraud. Criminal prosecution serves only to punish the most egregious offenders.

Those of us in the building trades must come together to support licensing or certification. We must raise the bar for our profession by demanding that all of those who open a contracting business demonstrate basic knowledge of the trade as well as business skills. The competent builder or remodeler has nothing to fear by regulation.

Kathryn Talbert is president of Conceptual Contracting in Manchester.

[AlanM]

I had a contractor I used to do sub-contractor work for. He wanted licensing. The reason? To limit competition. He knew there was no other reason to have it.
My father worked for a licensed contractor in Florida after he retired. The man knew nothing about how a house should be built, yet he had a license.

'nuff said

[Michael Fisher]

Kathryn Talbert is president of Conceptual Contracting in Manchester.

'Nuff said.

[Michael Fisher]

http://www.conceptualcontracting.com/

This website is terrible.  It has caused physical harm to me - by viewing it, I got a mildly upset stomach.  Their website could theoretically "harm" people and create "instability" on the internet because of its terrible design.  Should their web developer be jailed for developing websites without a license?   

???

Don't even get me started on this guest column they wrote for the Union Leader.  They are not even a random victimized consumer writing a letter.  They probably seek to profit from the significantly reduced competition that licensing will create.

[Michael Fisher]

My LTE in reply:

Everyone should reject paternalistic laws

In the guest column titled "Contractors ought to welcome licensing" in the July 31 New Hampshire Sunday News, Kathryn Talbert correctly asserts that "the consumer also has a burden of responsibility" in the construction industry.  This is true of every industry, but Kathryn seriously errs in her call for regulation and licensing of the construction industry.

Caveat Emptor, "buyer beware", is ancient wisdom that we should all follow.  The consumer alone carries the responsibility for assessing the quality of a purchase, in construction or any other industry.  All that is necessary to protect responsible consumers in a free society is the natural system of professional reputations and optional private sector certifications.

Safety codes are safety codes, and fraud is fraud - these have nothing to do with licensing.  If a construction contract is violated, then enforce it.  If fraud occurs, then prosecute it.  But do not create new regulations every single time a crime is committed or we can wave goodbye to our freedom.  Paternalistic laws protect us from the most miniscule evil at the expense of our responsibilities and our rights.

General contractors and construction managers, like big businesses in every industry, seek personal financial gain from licensing because it significantly restricts competition.  Next, watch for construction education schools to push for licensing as they will benefit even more from it.

With licensing, consumer responsibility and freedom will cease to exist, competition will be limited, prices will rise for consumers, and the occasional licensed business will continue to commit fraud, violate contracts, and ignore safety codes.  The only solution is this:  consumers should be wary of who they purchase from.

Mike Fisher, "Outlaw Manicurist"
Newmarket, NH

[Dreepa]

http://www.conceptualcontracting.com/

This website is terrible.? It has caused physical harm to me - by viewing it, I got a mildly upset stomach.? Their website could theoretically "harm" people and create "instability" on the internet because of its terrible design.? Should their web developer be jailed for developing websites without a license?? ?

So I had to look once you said that. I thought you might be stretching the truth there.
It is worse than you described.

I am suing for damage to my eyeballs and for my computer's health.

[Michael Fisher]

I think I feel a long-term neck injury coming on.   

[SethCohn]

http://www.unionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=58458

Kathryn Talbert:
Contractors ought to welcome licensing
By KATHRYN TALBERT
Guest Commentary
Merchants Automotive Group

IN LAST WEEK's New Hampshire Sunday News, fraud and incompetence among home improvement contractors and builders were reported. History tells us that when limited supply exists, a diverse number of people come to meet the demand. All too often the incompetent and the fraudster fill the voids left by a lack of experts in the given field.

Although the professional contractor has the burden of his or her trade obligations, the consumer also has a burden of responsibility. An astute consumer engages in the legwork necessary to find the right contractor and attain realistic expectations as to the cost of a given project. But the consumer should not have to be the expert builder in order to hire one.

Thus, I am puzzled why some representatives of the building industry balk at licensure or any type of regulation. By having little or no regulation of the industry, the overall reputation of our craft becomes devalued in eyes of the public with every fraud reported. The majority of contractors are honest and hardworking. The professionals provide their skills, knowledge and services in exchange for payment. By posing as a legitimate professional, the incompetent or fraud steals not only from the customer, but also from the legitimate builder.

In addition to the lack of regulation is a serious lack of available education in building. Good mentors are about all that exists. Trade unions once held the bar for entrance into the trade; not in modern times. So barring the latter two opportunities, all that exists is higher education, which is seriously lacking in New Hampshire. The only program in the state is at the Manchester Community Technical College and focuses entirely on residential wood frame construction, and only then on basic building techniques. Business management, ethics, commercial construction and project management are not offered. Also, the program offers no night, weekend, evening or even summer classes.

Is the lack of support for continuing education in building trades due to the stereotype of the obnoxious, half-drunken, barely literate builder? I have run across people who seem to think that builders all must behave this way. Most builders do not fit the stereotype.

Regulations abound to control many professions whose practitioners might fleece the public or put them at risk, such as real estate agents, lawyers, doctors, nurses, even hot dog vendors. But incompetence in the building industry goes unchecked while everyone pays. Consumers lose value in properties that are compromised because of improper building or remodeling. They also can lose all their savings or equity. This can translate into loss and increased instability in a community.

An entire community can suffer on large scale projects as well. Often a community must foot the bill to bring a project or building up to minimum code for public safety. A licensing process would allow a venue to record complaints and keep information on serial offenders. Licensing provides a vehicle to correct or weed out incompetence or outright fraud. Criminal prosecution serves only to punish the most egregious offenders.

Those of us in the building trades must come together to support licensing or certification. We must raise the bar for our profession by demanding that all of those who open a contracting business demonstrate basic knowledge of the trade as well as business skills. The competent builder or remodeler has nothing to fear by regulation.

Kathryn Talbert is president of Conceptual Contracting in Manchester.

[Dreepa]

Seth tell me there is a reason for posting this when it is on top. ???

[KBCraig]

Seth tell me there is a reason for posting this when it is on top. ???

I figured it was a failed attempt at quoting-and-countering.

Kevin

[Kat Kanning]

He posted it in a separate topic, so I merged the two topics.  Sorry, I guess it made it a bit confusing.

[SethCohn]

He posted it in a separate topic, so I merged the two topics.  Sorry, I guess it made it a bit confusing.

Yeah, I didn't see the other post on it, and wanted to pass it on.  Never mind.  Or rather, do mind, and write an LTE on it.

[Pat McCotter]

Mike's LTE was published in today's Sunday Monitor. Not yet online.

[Michael Fisher]

Mike's LTE was published in today's Sunday Monitor. Not yet online.

Did it say "Outlaw Manicurist" next to my name?  lol

[JennDorsett]

http://www.conceptualcontracting.com/

Now their site is "under construction"  I wonder... But I doubt it will get any better.  Ha!