4 ms·

Yep. This is the big American secret the working class can't seem to discover. The elite have busted the unions, but professional associations are stronger tha

Yep. This is the big American secret the working class can't seem to discover. The elite have busted the unions, but professional associations are stronger than ever. Doctors do it to avoid free trade, they are protectionist, and surprise! They get paid for it. The primary purpose of professional associations is to protect the wealth of the members, and this is done by lobbying for protectionism.

rdouble 15y ago
Doctors are really the last strong professional association, though. Lawyers have a cabal, but it's pretty weak. There's no cap on new lawyers or people attending law school. If you are dumb and/or have bad grades you can always attend a 4th tier law school. In contrast, there aren't 4th tier med schools. Someone who gets their MD at University of North Dakota is still going to be making $150K, worst case scenario. Lawyers on the other hand have lower average wages than one might think. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm#earnings http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm#earnings It's just that a handful of certain lawyers, like trial lawyers, can make infinite money so others assume all types of lawyers are rich.
- forensic 15y ago
  Doctors are the most powerful but the other associations still manage to raise wages through varying levels of protectionism.
- repsilat 15y ago
  > Lawyers have a cabal, but it's pretty weak... you can always attend a 4th tier law school. Getting a school accredited by the A.B.A. is expensive [1], and if the schools necessarily cost a lot of money to run then the students largely come out with big debts to pay off. The article says essentially that the U.S. is oversupplied with "expensive" lawyers and has a strong unmet demand for "reasonably priced" legal services. Moreover, there are a lot of people talking about how law graduates in the US are underprepared for their work - there's a recognition that some traditional curricula don't provide enough practical know-how to function in the real-world without serious on-the-job training. Law is essentially a vocational degree, and there is evidence that the standards governing the accreditation of law schools (and so lawyers) aren't aligned with the needs of the country. I'll grant that the gatekeepers of the medical profession may have a stronger hold on things, but there are decent arguments for liberalisation of the legal market. 1: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/business/for-law-schools-a-price-to-play-the-abas-way.html http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/business/for-law-schools-a...

rdouble 15y ago

Doctors are really the last strong professional association, though. Lawyers have a cabal, but it's pretty weak. There's no cap on new lawyers or people attending law school. If you are dumb and/or have bad grades you can always attend a 4th tier law school. In contrast, there aren't 4th tier med schools. Someone who gets their MD at University of North Dakota is still going to be making $150K, worst case scenario. Lawyers on the other hand have lower average wages than one might think. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm#earnings http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm#earnings It's just that a handful of certain lawyers, like trial lawyers, can make infinite money so others assume all types of lawyers are rich.

forensic 15y ago
Doctors are the most powerful but the other associations still manage to raise wages through varying levels of protectionism.
repsilat 15y ago
> Lawyers have a cabal, but it's pretty weak... you can always attend a 4th tier law school. Getting a school accredited by the A.B.A. is expensive [1], and if the schools necessarily cost a lot of money to run then the students largely come out with big debts to pay off. The article says essentially that the U.S. is oversupplied with "expensive" lawyers and has a strong unmet demand for "reasonably priced" legal services. Moreover, there are a lot of people talking about how law graduates in the US are underprepared for their work - there's a recognition that some traditional curricula don't provide enough practical know-how to function in the real-world without serious on-the-job training. Law is essentially a vocational degree, and there is evidence that the standards governing the accreditation of law schools (and so lawyers) aren't aligned with the needs of the country. I'll grant that the gatekeepers of the medical profession may have a stronger hold on things, but there are decent arguments for liberalisation of the legal market. 1: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/business/for-law-schools-a-price-to-play-the-abas-way.html http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/business/for-law-schools-a...