End Certificate of Need
Imagine your town has just one gas station. Imagine that this station, because of its lonely status, charges an exorbitant premium for the convenience of not having to drive 40 miles to the next town's gas station.
Now imagine that you wanted to open a gas station across the street. Do you think that gas prices would go down or up in your small town?
But what if your competitor had lobbied the state to create a complicated and expensive process required to open your new gas station. Not only that, but you have to demonstrate that your town actually needs a second gas station to begin with.
It seems insane that one must pre-emptively prove a need to engage in a profitable activity before being allowed to engage in that activity.
In medicine, such a policy is called certificate of need. Kentucky has such a law and it's time for it to go.
