Russ Latino joins Y’all Politics to discuss the findings. Watch the interview.
Empower Mississippi released a report today that examines the burden created by Mississippi’s occupational regulations, how they impact entrepreneurs, consumers, and the larger economy, and potential reforms that could reduce the burden.
The report was authored Dr. Ed Timmons, a professor of economics and Director of the Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation at the John Chambers School of Business and Economics at West Virginia University, Conor Norris, a research analyst for the Knee Center and Empower Fellow, and Empower President Russ Latino.
Latino joined Y’all Politics for a discussion on the report’s findings. He says there are 102 professions with less than a college degree that requires a license. Mississippi requires licenses for 66 of those. This ranks Mississippi as the 15th most widely licensed state. At the same time, Mississippi has the second lowest workforce participation rate in the country. It is estimated that the licensing has reduced the number of jobs in Mississippi by almost 13,000. This has translated to an economic loss of $37 million for the state.
In the interview, Latino also offered his thoughts on the income tax elimination and teacher pay raise proposals currently being considering by the Legislature.
You can read the report here and watch the interview with Latino below.
Frank Corder
