| Most would agree that licensed professionals need to | | | | At a time in our economy when we want small |
| go through ongoing education in order to stay up on | | | | businesses to do well, the last thing we should be doing |
| their craft. And many believe that by doing this | | | | is making more and more mandatory tests preventing |
| regulators can make sure they do not break the law. | | | | them from doing their job. Yes we need full |
| This is all fine and good, except that often regulators | | | | compliance with regulations, but at some point we |
| are making laws so quickly, they are stifling the very | | | | need to stop making more rules, and realize that we |
| enterprises they are trying to keep above board and in | | | | cannot regulate morality, and if we try, we are hurting |
| compliance to help the clients, consumer, and | | | | most of the good participants in the industries, and it is |
| customers. At some point too much ongoing education | | | | likely that we will not be preventing any crime just |
| or continuing education causes a problem and let me | | | | because we have instituted more ongoing education. |
| explain. | | | | This is something we need to think about and consider. |
| If a seasoned professional is spending all their times | | | | Far too often we have regulators sitting around and |
| studying for tests to comply with rules and regulations, | | | | making new rules and regulations, when they have |
| then obviously they are not working during those many | | | | never participated in an industry. And sometimes we |
| hours of study. Often we find that ongoing education | | | | have industry associations, which are filled with the big |
| courses which are required are the equivalent of three | | | | boys on the block, the larger companies who send |
| units in college, and sometimes these happen once per | | | | their attorneys to these rule-making sessions. And they |
| quarter. A professional could easily go out of business | | | | create more rules and regulations, and ongoing |
| during a recession because they are so busy studying | | | | educational requirements to put up barriers to entry to |
| to make sure they can maintain their license and they | | | | their smaller industry competitors. |
| don't have time to get out and do sales. | | | | It is easy for someone in academia, or a consumer |
| In this case it is putting the professional out of business, | | | | rights group to demand more ongoing education and |
| and there seems to be a small education lobbying | | | | rules, but often these rules are not applied correctly to |
| industry that is that has come into play - call it the | | | | protect the consumer, and much of the ongoing |
| Ongoing Education Industrial Complex if you will. This is | | | | education is nothing more than busy work, rote |
| where those that administer the tests sit in rooms with | | | | memorization, and we have the same dilemma as we |
| regulators, and legal representatives and come up with | | | | have in our schools with no child left behind laws. I |
| the new laws, thus guaranteeing them a captured | | | | hope you will please consider this. |
| audience of students and test takers to comply. | | | | |