Here is a sobering fact: In the United States, there are thousands of medical malpractice claims filed every year, with billions of dollars in claims. It is true that that medical malpractice is often abused by unscrupulous attorneys and plaintiffs, and that the awards are often absurd, but many of those cases themselves are not absurd. Many are actual, documented malpractice, with serious implications for the patient, including death. In every one of those cases, the medical professionals were licensed by a state licensing board. The unscrupulous attorneys were also licensed. It is clear that in those cases, the licenses didn’t make a difference in protecting from either medical or law professionals.

“But,” you might say, “if there were no license requirement, then anyone could say they are a physician” There have been cases of that happening in spite of licensing laws, but if you visit a physician who is new to town, you might want some type of proof of competence. If you look on the wall for a state-issued license, you could just as easily look on the wall at the medical school diploma, medical association affiliations, and such things, as well as asking direct questions and talking with other patients. What is important is that the individual is well trained, keeps up on new developments, and so forth. All professional associations in pretty much all professions require proof of competence and continuing education, and membership in those organizations are evidence of competence.

Early in my career, I was a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA). The professional organizations representing those professions required a four year degree and taking exams to demonstrate competence, and they required continuing professional education to maintain it. The license that was required added nothing but the signature of a bureaucrat in a city far away who didn’t know me or how well I did my work.

The Bernie Madoff Ponzi scam, which bilked investors for tens of billions of dollars, was audited. The Enron Corporation was audited by one of the largest accounting firms in the world before it exploded. The list goes on and on, and the point is that every one of those accountants was licensed by some state board. Every stock broker is required to be licensed, but that license does not protect investors from scammers and self-interested churners. It is up to the individual to do the homework, regardless of the blessing given by a bureaucrat.

A recent case in Mississippi held that someone offering dieting advice was in violation of state laws, because she was promoting a paid weight loss contest without being licensed as a nutritionist, with a potential $1,000 fine and six months in jail. Though she has an undergraduate degree in nutrition and food science, as well as a masters in physical therapy, she didn’t get a piece of paper from a state bureaucrat giving her permission to give advice. The irony of the entire matter is that the obesity epidemic and the related diseases, not only in Mississippi, but in the entire country, is primarily the result of disastrous advice given by licensed nutritionists and the medical community. For decades they have been promoting a diet very high in carbohydrates and very low in fats, resulting in ballooning waist lines.

It is important for people to be able to choose and rely on qualified professionals, but a state license does not make one a good hair braider or a good carpenter. The character of the individual practitioner or tradesman or service provider is what is important. Those people, licensed or not, will soon gain customers, or lose them, depending on the work they do and the results they get.

Dan McLaughlin is the author of “Compassion and Truth-Why Good Intentions Don’t Equal Good Results.” Follow him at daniel-mclaughlin.com