Joseph Coletti’s post this morning on “Can barbers spur local economic growth?” brought several things to my mind:
- One: Barbers are frequently self-employed entrepreneurs.
- Two: The job of barber is generally a lower-income occupation.
- Three: Barbers need an occupational license to work, which artificially limits the supply of barbers, most likely the supply of barbers in low-income areas.
- Four: Entrepreneurship in low-income areas is doubly important because it not only brings in additional income to the entrepreneur, but also needed goods and services to the area.
So I find it instructive that access to a local barber would keep that economic activity in the community instead of a barbershop being part of the occasional trip to far-off “big box” stores. And that leads me to one other thought:
- Five: There are many other low-income entrepreneurships that are frustrated by needless occupational licensing, and therefore many other benefits being denied to low-income communities. Read this for “the power of one entrepreneur.”
