Washington D.C. requires tour guides to pass a test and get a license. Can you imagine why? It cannot be because if an ill-informed tour guide were to say that the top of the Indian on top of the Capitol is 302 feet above the ground that this would cause great harm to the tourist. It the tourist goes back to Indiana and tells his neighbor this incorrect fact, his neighbor will tell him, no, from the east side, at the bottom of the steps, to the top of the Indian is 288 feet. The misinformed tourist would then have no choice but to commit suicide out of embarrassment, right? Fortunately, in my hypothetical example, the tourist can simply point out that the Capitol was not built on level ground and there probably is a point on the ground above which the Indian does rise to a height of 302 feet.
But what really has me wondering is that there is a tour of sites haunted with ghosts. Does the D.C. tour guide test check for guide knowledge of the ghosts of D.C.?
There must be tour guides who specialize in the Capitol, the White House, and the three main presidential memorials. Then there must be some who specialize in the museums. Do they all take the same tour guide test?
It turns out that the Institute for Justice has just taken the case of the tour company called Segs in the City to protect them from this licensing requirement. I suppose the Segway tour guides will have to prove they can drive a bus and talk at the same time. There are also walking tours. I wonder if the walking guides also have to show they can drive a bus?
It is getting to be the case in many cities that if you want to earn a living doing anything, you must get a license. When the cities finally get all jobs covered, I expect they will begin issuing licenses for the right to breathe out CO2. You will have to prove that you are worth the pollution you breathe out due to your social value. If you cannot, then the politicians will be addressing the over-population problem, right?
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