When it comes to licensing concerns on both the state and federal level, it appears that farriers aren’t the only trade where there’s a need for regulations or not. These concerns were spelled out in a recent Wall Street Journal article dealing with trade licensing issues.

Here’s my “Top 10 Licensing Concerns” list based on the article by Eric Morath that looked at what appears to be a national fight over whether to police trades that are as diverse as auctioneers and barbers.

1 More than 25% of U.S. workers are employed in a trade licensed at the state level. In one state, more than 1,000 occupations require a license.

2 Requirements for the licensing of various trades have grown by over 500% in the past 60 years.

3 A number of folks working within licensed professions, ranging from funeral directors to lawyers to massage therapists, favor state licensing since it can boost their income and keep more people from entering their professions.

4 Licensed workers across all trades tend to have a 10% to 15% wage advantage over similar unlicensed workers, according to a public affairs study from the University of Minnesota.

5 Critics argue that requiring licensing of some trades is keeping low-income people from entering some fields and limits worker mobility.

6 Wisconsin lawmakers recently passed a bill that would prevent local governments from establishing new occupational licenses.

7 Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has asked lawmakers to review the more than 100 occupations regulated in his state.

8 Idaho Gov. Butch Otter vetoed a law last April that would have licensed sign-language interpreters.

9 There is an extensive politically motivated push currently underway in the District of Columbia to stop the spread of occupational licenses, especially among fitness trainers.

10 Over the past 40 years, there have only been eight successful attempts to rollback state licensing regulations of specific trades.