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Licensing Computer Techs As TV Repairmen
An anonymous reader writes "According to a story in yesterday's New Orleans paper, the Louisiana Radio and Television Technicians Board has sent letters to computer techs demanding fees to license them as radio and TV repairmen. Apparently, as computers drive more home theater applications, the board is trying to classify them as 'playback and recording device equipment,' which the law gives the board power to regulate. It looks more like a money grab, though, since no test is required, just $55 and an affidavit." It seems to me the better question is not whether computers can be defined in many circumstances as playback and recording equipment (hard to get around), but whether this kind of forced classification makes sense in the first place. Disingenuous quote of the day: "We're not trying to swing our arm around a whole bunch of people to get new revenue."
Y'all send in them checks, ya hear?
Yours Truly,
The Fatty McTax.
"Awright, it's out there on the grass, yew juss fixit and then back away from it, slow like."
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Louisiana is also attempting to force lawyers to license themselves as garbage collectors. Surprisingly, the Louisiana Bar Association, when asked for comment, indicated that they agreed with the decision.
and most TV repairmen can't fix computers.
It's obviously a way to try to grap money.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
Technically, in California you have to be a licensed appliance and electronics repair person already. It's just not enforced (that wouldn't go over well in San Jose). I wish I had time to find a better link to source, but here's a link.
US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
Since the radio is just a component of the car, the car as a whole could be considered a playback device. Are they sending this extortion attempt to car mechanics? No? Funny that...
---- El diablo esta en mis pantalones! Mire, mire!
It follows a disturbing pattern of "licensing for no purpose" that has been firmly established as standard operating procedure in this country for decades. We license driving, marriage, fishing, hunting, and now WORKING? What's next? An oxygen license? I hope plenty of IT workers stand up and say "hell no" in a massive act of civil disobedience. For that matter, let the TV and radio guys do it too!
There is a difference between "insightful" and "inciteful" other than spelling.
I'd think there'd be a big difference between someone licensed to repair computers, and someone who repaired computers who was licensed to repair television sets.
you are overlooking the fact you won't standout when it reaches a critical mass. as its $55 everyone will get one as without one you will standout badly. this is when it just becomes a money grabbing scheme
Whats next automechanics having to get licenses as ferriers to change tires?
"That is the problem with a grandfather clause," he said. "There is nothing that we can do about that."
Sure there is, don't license computer technicians!
-- johntracy.com, because everybody else is wrong.
It would make one stand out amongst competition.
That seems like a good deal to me.
In that case, send me $75, and you can be a preferred licenced computer repairperson
This is same sort of stupid stuff that Alabama pulls. They charge a licensing fee to sell calculators in the state. This is from a law made in the 1800's when cash registers were introduced. I think politicians thought "if it takes money, we should get some of it." They threw "them thar' cal-u-lating machines" in since they can be used to calculate money.
So when is the Hawkeye movie coming out?
According the the RIAA, MPAA, the NFL, and several other entertainment groups, playing broadcasted or distributed entertainment on a computer is against the law....
...So how can a local government body issue people a license to repair lawbreaking equipment?
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START
"It would make one stand out amongst competition."
No it wouldn't because all the competition will also have to have paid $55. It does nothing but gouge people for $55.
Of course, the idea of licensing TV repairmen is neither more nor less insane than the idea of calling computer repairmen TV repairmen. All it accomplishes is to restrict the supply and drive up the prices, hurting the very public it was ``supposed to protect''.
See what I've been reading.
i think it's a great idea, given proper expansion. for instance, i'd be willing to pay $100 if i could call myself a doctor and get paid like one. or for $75 you could call yourself a pilot and get to fly around. of course, becoming a lawyer would be free, just as encouragement.
The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.
-Oscar Wilde
Go run for office and fix it already!
Anyway, I *like* that there is a driving license. I wish it were *more* difficult.
Marriage... that one is less useful now than it might have been 100 years ago. And with common law marriages, quite useless, though lots of states don't recognize common law marriage.
Fishing and hunting I'll agree too as I don't think we should have unlicensed folk with guns shooting at things. At the least, it limits them.
Essentially licensing is a force to limit, and in certain things I think that's good.
GPL Deconstructed
Who is John Galt?
There is no nonsense so errant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action.
Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)
For every action there is an equal and opposite government program.
Bob Wells
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After two years in Washington, I often long for the realism and sincerity of Hollywood.
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You know what's interesting about Washington? It's the kind of place where second-guessing has become second nature.
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Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.
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H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office.
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Whenever you have an efficient government you have a dictatorship.
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You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too.
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Sure there are dishonest men in local government. But there are dishonest men in national government too.
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"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
Like this isn't what will happen anyway.
I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie
During either the DeCSS suit, the DMCA hearings, or a RIAA/MPAA suit (I can't remember which), the court specifically ruled that computers were not playback and recording devices and thus did not fall into the realm of protected devices for fair use copying.
Either computers are not such devices as the court ruling indicated, and thus this money grab is illegal, or computers are such devices and thus protected by fair use copying exemptions to the chagrin of the RIAA/MPAA.
http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/071504/opi_edi 2001.shtml
I have always heard rumors of Marijuana Tax Stamps and the like, so I did a little googling. Here's a random sample from Kansas:
There is other text http://www.ksrevenue.org/faqs-abcdrugtax.htm for your amusement.How does the Slashdot Effect happen given that no slashdotters ever RTFA?
What specific actions constitute a "repair"?
Backing up a hard drive?
Swapping one hard drive for another?
Swapping one hard drive for another because the first had failed?
Re-installing Windows?
Replacing Windows with Linux?
Modifying the Windows registry?
Unplugging one mouse and plugging in another?
Brushing dirt from the lens of a (optical) mouse?
Moving files around?
There are so many ways that a computer can "break" that don't require getting out your soldering iron... I'd think it'd be difficult to differentiate between someone who "repairs" computers and someone who "supports" computers.
So American girls can go around and say: I'm a licensed bride? Would a hooker be an 'unlicensed bride?'
Oh well, what the hell...
For the low LOW price of 55 bucks I can pad my resume with "Radio and TV Repairman".
I've hit Karma 50 and gotten a Score:5, Troll... I win!
" Let us not forget that an improperly wired CRT will emit X Rays."
According to this link:
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/TVRad.html
There's never been a case where this has happened. Is this because its not possible to do, or because all TV repairmen are licensed and all exercise extreme caution when wiring CRTs?
Incidentally, do you know anyone who has ever rewired a CRT? When is a re-wiring advisable? Is it an annual thing, or just when the wires get old?
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
Driver's licenses do not do anything to ensure safe driving.
You're wrong. (So is this weirdo).
How does paying a couple of dollars every few years (with no testing) ensure that I drive safer?
You're incorrectly focusing on license-renewal, which is actually less important than the initial issuance, which is what really improves safety. Or do you think that I'd really be fine to allow 14-year olds to get in cars and do 65 on the highway without at least first convincing a backseat cop that he's fundamentally competent?
Louisiana is a different place than the rest of the country. First off, the state uses Napoleanic Code (which is derived from Roman Law) while the rest of the nation is using English Common Law. Every governmental position in the state is elected, NONE are appointed.
Secondly, the state has continously put political machines into office. Fmr. Gov. Edwin Edwards (3-term governor) is currently serving a prison sentence in Dallas because of a variety of charges, basically stemming from taking bribes from casinos. Then back in the day, we had Huey Long, followed by his brother Earl Long. Huey even had a box where he kept all the kickbacks from state businesses and employees.
Hell, to become a notary public in Louisiana, you've got to get approval from the Governor!
The state has some of the most corrupt, crooked, and just plain old screwed up politics in the nation. Every profession you can think of has to be licensed - and especially now, because the state is running low on cash (thank you Kathleen Blanco), taxes are extremely high.
Most businesses just stay out of Louisiana since the cost of doing business there, unless you know somebody, is extreme. Its good-ole-boy politics at its finest.
I would imagine that TV repairmen were originally regulated because they had to know how to safely work on open TV cabinets containing dangerous high voltages, operate test equipment on those high voltage circuits, and install suitable replacement parts that wouldn't catch on fire.
So you're saying that the government should require anyone who cracks open a TV set to have a license? No more fix-it-at-home episodes? Billy Bob can't drink a six-pack, get out the screwdriver and augment his gymnastics skills with the flyback transformer?
Licenses are required to protect consumers from ripoff artists. Otherwise, you'd have corner shops with con artists "fixing" TVs.
Back in the old days of tube TVs, it was very easy to take a damaged TV from a naive client, declare it a total loss by "demonstrating" how badly the TV was broken, and offer to buy it for $25 as a "parts" chassis.
Then, put all the tubes back in, fix the original minor problem for $10, tune it up a little and sell it for $200 to someone else. Then wait for the next moron to walk through the door and attempt to swindle them too! A state agency with a licensing plan has a complaint system. Several complaints, and an inspector stops in, maybe to suspend the license.
Back in the 60's and 70's, you could find tube testers at the hardware and grocery stores. Anyone with a screwdriver and some patience could at least get their TV up and running by bringing in dead tubes, checking them in the tube tester, and replacing them. Tuning was a bit more tricky, but it was possible if you learned a few tricks.
Editorial Mode: ON
PCs are simply a pain-in-the-ass. After chasing hardware and software problems for other people for the past 15+ years, I tell you, it's not worth $75 an hour to do it. The calls never stop, and most people generally believe that each incident is directly related to the first service call. They feel that they should only have to pay $75 once, and that everything after that is free. If you enjoy peace and quiet, strict enforcement of the $75/hour fee is required. If you perform one favor, somehow, everyone hears about it and you've got dozens of others who expect the same treatment. It's not worth it.
The only thing worse than fixing PCs is fixing someone else's stovepipe network!
-- No sig for you!
While it is true they require you to have the tax stamps, they haven't actually sold the tax stamps in a whole lot of years.
Since they never actually issue the stamps, nobody can ever be in compliance with the law. Therefore, they effectively make it illegal since they don't give you a (real) route to make it legal.
Go ahead, try and get yourself some of those stamps.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.