COMMENTARY: When states solve the problems that Washington can’t

Washington can barely keep the lights on between shutdown threats. Meanwhile, ordinary Americans are doing what Congress can’t: solving problems in their own communities.

I learned this when I watched pointless rules and petty bureaucracy nearly put a skilled man out of work. Francois, a master barber from the Ivory Coast, had been cutting hair for more than a decade. Overzealous regulators in Iowa required 1,000 hours of training for a barber’s license — even for professionals such as him who had already proven their craft.

Francois didn’t need his skill rubber-stamped. He needed the government to get out of his way.

So he joined a coalition of barbers, small-business owners and community advocates who believed the system was holding talented people back. They told their stories at the state Capitol. They argued that licensing should protect consumers, not trap workers. And this year, the governor signed their bill into law.

Now his sons watch their father do what he came to America to do: cut hair, build a business and contribute to the community he calls home.

Nationwide, people are proving that they don’t need a permission slip from bureaucrats to feed their families. It is a reminder that American federalism still works, and that when government gets out of the way, people do what they’ve always done: work hard, build a life and turn dreams into reality.

Arizona stepped up when it adopted universal licensing recognition in 2019, allowing professionals who hold a license in one state to work in another without having to start over. More than 8,000 workers have already benefited, including engineers, nurses and electricians.

California opened the door for home cooks, many of them women and immigrants, to run small food businesses legally from their kitchens.

By setting clear safety standards and removing unnecessary red tape, the state allowed thousands of entrepreneurs to participate openly in the economy.

Georgia modernized cosmetology rules this year so new stylists and salon owners can enter the field more quickly while maintaining strong consumer safeguards. For many, it means turning a dream into a livelihood in months instead of years.

None of these reforms needed permission from Washington. They happened because state leaders saw how their occupational licensing systems were out of date, acting as barriers that hurt real people.

That is the quiet power of federalism. Smaller coalitions move faster, decisions remain close to the people affected, and good ideas spread because results speak for themselves.

In the past decade, nearly 30 states have reduced unnecessary training hours, expanded license portability and eliminated bureaucratic mazes for skills like braiding hair and cooking.

Critics warn that letting states act independently creates inconsistency. That diversity is what allows innovation. One state tests a reform, another refines it, and others follow — not because they were ordered to but because better outcomes are hard to ignore.

Ordinary people building a life without waiting for permission is what made America work in the first place. We were built by rule-breakers, risk-takers and free-thinkers who believed opportunity belonged to anyone willing to reach for it. They didn’t wait for Washington to bless their dreams. They worked, they built, they pushed past the gatekeepers.

States still carry that torch. And if we want a future rooted in real-world solutions, we should trust the places where freedom still lives closest to home.

Today, Francois’ barbershop is full. He is training young apprentices, supporting his family and offering the kind of service that keeps a neighborhood connected. His success did not come from a federal directive. It came from a state willing to listen to the people living with the consequences of outdated rules.

His story is more than a victory for one barber in Iowa. It is evidence that the American system still works as intended: bottom-up, community-driven and grounded in everyday experience.

Jordan Banegas is the director of strategic projects for Proven Media Solutions. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.