Bill R has poses the question..."Frankly, I believe that we would be very
likely to get government to confer a monopoly on the ICRM for certification
if we were to work to that end.  The question is this, are we ready for
that?"

My answer would be a resounding NO...NEVER... I would implore us to steer
away from any kind of government mandated "licensing" (I use the quotes
because in some instances it's not called licensing but like Bill I think
it's largely the same process regardless of whether it's an apple or an
orange)

I work for Government and have done for many years and have some experience
in industries where government enforced regulation or licensing is the
norm...I'm more than willing to admit that Government "licensing" doesn't
work... it doesn't stop 'bad eggs' getting through the system, it often
prevents or discourages innovation in the relevant industry and it normally
becomes so expensive as to discourage participation by anyone but the
wealthy..."Licensing" doesn't work with respect to professions OR with
respect to businesses (I could spend about 3 and a half years providing
examples of why government-conferred monopolies are evil incarnate but I
won't bore you all right here).

We need to encourage and persuade and market but we don't need to use force
or threats (which is what Government licensing always ends up being...even
if that is an unintended consequence) to achieve our goals of recognition of
the value of our profession...and if we can't achieve what we want via
encouragement and persuasion and marketing then I would say we don't deserve
to achieve it at all.

I'd much rather see a voluntary compliance rate of 50% than a mandatory
compliance rate of 100%.

From the sounds of it the CRM people are going about things the right way in
terms of making it a voluntary code...and it seems to slowly be gaining
acceptance (at least in the US).

Cheers, Bernadette

Bernadette Bean
bus ph: 8226 6154
mob:0412 848750
email: [log in to unmask]

When life hands you lemons, ask for Tequila and Salt

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