Maine Again Says No To Contractor Licensing

Brickie

I like many of my fellow hoosiers prefer local control. I'm against state licensing especially the draconian style that they have in Michigan.

Nice to hear that you are retired. That would explain why you are a little out of touch with things. So let me try & help you out a little:

Many 21st Century Contractors like myself have these things called laptops in our work trucks/vans. So as I sit here in my truck at one of my jobsites, I can quite easily check my emails or BS with a retiree @ contractor talk. It's all good

__________________
“Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country.” – Ronald Reagan

Mike Finley

It can't be said any better:

Brickie

Yes, it can & was said a lot better in an earlier post:


Gene,

I totally agree that the entire system is BS & rigged.

That is why I & millions of other Americans are against giving away more of our freedoms to the various Govt's. They don't enforce current laws. Passing more laws that they for the most part won't enforce only takes more of our freedoms and money away.

It is illegal to break into our country.

It is illegal for the illegals to work here. Yet, millions of them do.

Millions of them are "contractors" that don't have insurance, WC, pay taxes, pull permits, get licensing, etc.,

Many "licensed" contractors around the country hire these illegals as subs.

The illegals committ mail fraud, wire fraud & engage in money laundering with their ill gotten gains.

The overwhelming majority of local & state govt.'s aid & abet in all of this.

The Federal Govt., regardless of which party is in power, also aids & abets this crap. The Feds estimate that over $30B a year is sent back to Mexico alone.

It is delusional to think, with all of the above listed facts, that requiring all contractors to be licensed will "level the playing field" as some here have argued.

__________________
“Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country.” – Ronald Reagan

Mike Finley

If all hacks were illegals then that would be relevent to contractor licensing.

Brickie

A lot of (not all) hacks are illegals. A lot of the US hacks employee illegals as well.

__________________
“Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country.” – Ronald Reagan

Enzytebob

That is a good solution in a communist society. But someone has to pay for all those inspectors running around. Unless you have to pay rediculous fees for the permit, you need license fees to supplement the lost income from paying inspectors.

Enzytebob

Gene,

I totally agree that the entire system is BS & rigged.

That is why I & millions of other Americans are against giving away more of our freedoms to the various Govt's. They don't enforce current laws. Passing more laws that they for the most part won't enforce only takes more of our freedoms and money away.

It is illegal to break into our country.

It is illegal for the illegals to work here. Yet, millions of them do.

Millions of them are "contractors" that don't have insurance, WC, pay taxes, pull permits, get licensing, etc.,

Many "licensed" contractors around the country hire these illegals as subs.

The illegals committ mail fraud, wire fraud & engage in money laundering with their ill gotten gains.

The overwhelming majority of local & state govt.'s aid & abet in all of this.

The Federal Govt., regardless of which party is in power, also aids & abets this crap. The Feds estimate that over $30B a year is sent back to Mexico alone.

It is delusional to think, with all of the above listed facts, that requiring all contractors to be licensed will "level the playing field" as some here have argued. [/quote]


What you are overlooking here is the fact the we NEED these people to keep our economy from faltering. All successful countries have to have a lower class. The politicians certainly know this, that is why they don't do anything about it.

In my experience, our friends from the south are much harder working, and much more respectful than some douchebag kid outta high school that has been told his whole life that this kind of work is below him. They all want to be doctors and astronauts these days.

The hispanic people flooding our borders today are a godsend, and the only thing that keeps this country growing. Its like modern day slave labor, except we have slaves that WANT to be here. Its win, win for everyone, stop complaining.

They may drain public tax dollars a little, but no more than the doctor or astronaut kid on unemployment because everyone else in his high school class is a doctor or astronaut too.

You think you pay a lot in wages now, shut down the borders and see what happens. I'm no economist, but I bet you'll be paying some kid who knows nothing $45 an hour to sweep up your jobsite. $100 an hour if they actually pick up a hammer.

Enzytebob

One more thing, I worked unlicensed for a few years before getting one. I can't tell you how many hack jobs i came across done by "licensed" contractors. Hell, I built my business fixing these guys f- ups.

The bottom line is that owner of the business is the only one who can control the quality of work being done. Public inspectors and licensing exams will never change that fact.

Train your employees well, supervise the work that they do, and weed out all those who don't meet your requirements. All else should fall in place. Remember, your customers dont usually even meet or talk to you, if your employees aren't top notch, your companies' reputation will show that.

Good leadership makes a good company, not a passing score on an exam.

Brickie

You must be out of your mind. We don't need them here. There is no job that Americans & legal immigrants wouldn't do. Slavery is NEVER OKAY. The fact that you think it's a good idea really says a lot about you.

__________________
“Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country.” – Ronald Reagan

Enzytebob

I admit my words were quite brash. I don't actually think of them as slaves. That was simply an analogy. And what was stating I believe is more fact than opinion.

If you look at human history, all great civilizations had a lower class. A slave is someone who is made to work for you by FORCE. Illegal immigrants WANT to do work for $5 an hour. If it is enough money to make them happy, then why should anyone feel bad paying them that amount?

Anyhow, I'm not an advocate for hiring illegal labor. But the fact that people do makes it a relevant issue in our economy. It has an affect. I believe that overall, it is a good one.

sprinklertech

I'm in the fire sprinkler industry and we wouldn't know how to operate without licenses.

I hold or have had licenses in Vermont, Alaska, Nebraska, Kentucky, the Carolina's, Florida, Georgia and Alabama and most are the same except for Florida which in my mind is kind of sloppy.

In most states you need a certificate holder and that must be NICET certified layout technician which involves a minimum 5 years verifiable experience and three to four days of open book testing. They are all timed tests and if you have to look much up at all you're gonna run out of time and fail. You might have time to look up 1 of every 20 questions.

Some of the testing, such as advanced hydraulics, no amount of open book will help you either know it or fail.

States I have worked in require the NICET certificate holder to be responsible. In some states I must sign off that I inspected the work and it was done in accordance with standards. I must also witness and sign off all testing and some states require we maintain a site visit log showing dates and times through the construction we visited and supervised.

I had to take the Florida test, I passed the first time, but because I already had NICET certification I didn't have to verify past experience.

Sprinklers are somewhat different in that most inspectors know little about them so they make the certificate holder (me) legally responsible.

All this is good for NICET certificate holders because it guarantees full employment. In general we're not an easy business to start.