&gt;  why does the article&#x27;s author want to deny the poor and less well educated segment of the small business community its fair share of the economic protection which occupational licensing offers?<p>Well, obviously, <i>no one</i> deserves a particular &quot;fair share&quot; of a business. That&#x27;s basically saying that they own a certain number of people as customers, which is almost like micro-slavery. (And if there&#x27;s enough businesses where someone owns the rights to you as a customer, it gets progressively more and more so.)<p>But beyond that, who would be the competition for the &quot;poor and less well educated segment of the small business community&quot; afforded protection? Surely a new entrant into the hair-braiding business is more likely to be poorer and less-well educated than someone who is already in the business and influential enough to be lobbying occupational licensing boards.