Republicans shape "facts" around desired outcome: Eliminating Professional Licensing? Have confidence in your Barber, hiring a "plumber," or "electrician?"

Who would fit "facts" around their desired outcome? Walker Republicans of course.

Just like "push polling," which is defined as "attempting to manipulate or alter prospective voters' views/beliefs under the guise of conducting an opinion poll," the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) is also gently "altering" how professionals should answer a survey blatantly encouraging them to "eliminate" occupational licenses.

DSPS is now completing a "comprehensive study" and "report" of Wisconsin's occupational licenses. Believe it or not, right there in the DSPS email to credentialed professional license holder in the state, they actually came out and said what their desired outcome would be: 

"The report from the DSPS must include the department's recommendations for the elimination of occupational licenses based on the following..."

Gulp! Below is the exact wording to "alter" and "manipulate" the license holders views, which I've highlighted. So is this shaping the facts around the Republicans desired outcome? Ya think?

- The department's evaluation of whether the unregulated practice of the profession, occupation, or trade can clearly harm or endanger the health, safety, or welfare of the public, and whether the potential for the harm is recognizable and not remote or speculative. 

- The department's evaluation of whether the public reasonably benefits from the occupational license requirement. 

- The department's evaluation of whether the public can be effectively protected by any means other than requiring an occupational license. 

- The department's analysis of whether licensure requirements for the regulated profession, occupation, or trade exist in other states. 

- The department's estimate of the number of individuals or entities that are affected by the occupational license requirement. 

- The department's estimate of the total financial burden imposed on individual or entities as a result of the occupational licensure requirement, including education or training costs, examination fees, private credential fees, occupational license fees imposed by the state, and other costs individuals or entities incur in order to obtain the required occupational license. 

- The department's evaluation of the tangible or intangible barriers people may face in obtaining an occupational license. 

Eliminating Licensing Completely? Yes: You say it can't happen? Remember this:

Rep. Mary Czaja (R-Irma) came up with the (following) measure.

"Anyone with a bachelor's degree could be hired and licensed to teach sixth- through 12th-grade English, math, social studies or science in Wisconsin And any person with relevant experience — even a high school dropout — could be licensed to teach in any other non-core academic subject in those grades." 

Bottom Line? 

According to The Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance: "This totally destroys any licensure requirements that we have in Wisconsin. It's very concerning."

Tim Slekar, dean of the School of Education at Edgewood College in Madison, said:“Softening teacher license policies or doing away with the license altogether will kill the profession and turn teaching into a low-wage service sector.”

Deregulation Insanity. You can bet this won't happen under the Evers Administration thank god.