An amazing number of licensing, certification, zoning, and permit requirements in this country, particularly those pertaining to small businesses in many different fields, turn out to be about larger organizations using the power of the state to suppress competition.

This is true even for regulations that started out with good intentions.

You start giving government vast power over economic activity, and it's hardly surprising that those with the most gold end up making the rules.

This isn't just my opinion, either. I've seen a lot of documented background on it in the past (nothing documented on this particular issue yet).