We couldn't help but notice the story out of New Orleans pointing out that tour guides must pass a history exam, or they can be forbidden to shepherd tourists around the city.
Guides who do not obtain a license by passing the history test and jumping through other hoops can be jailed for five months if they are caught showing people around! City officials have actually been going around the city, breaking up "rogue" tours.
Obviously we'd hope any tour guide would be knowledgeable, but the market can sort that out. Incompetent guides will get less business than better ones.
Critics of the licensing rules note that authors or other speakers can be brought to New Orleans and paid to speak in front of huge crowds without proving any knowledge of their subject matter. Neither do workers in other parts of New Orleans' tourism sector face similar rules. Why, then, should tour guides be subject to such rigorous standards?
Unfortunately, these dubious rules look like a protection racket designed to prevent competition in New Orleans' tourism industry.
But stifling competition is not the American way.