I am looking for a few examples (3-5) of industries or professions
that have been ?legislated out of business.?

For example, California is considering new laws that would allow banks
to help people buy and sell real estate like Realtors do now.  If this
law passes, the worst-case scenario is that the profession of being a
?Realtor? as we know it could be wiped out.  Virtually everybody has
an existing account/relationship with a bank, most trust their bank,
etc.  As a result, people looking to make a real estate transaction
would tend to look to their bank first, not a Realtor.  Plus, banks
have such deep pockets, they could do real estate transactions for
less than realtors, further squeezing realtors out of the picture.

Similarly, the profession of being a ?mortgage broker? could be wiped
out ? if your bank is handling the transaction when you buy a house,
they will have the inside track in terms of getting you your mortgage.

I realize the notion that Realtors and mortgage brokers might be
?legislated completely out of business? is a worst-case scenario. 
Still, I?ve been asked to give a speech at a fund-raiser related to
this issue, and I need some examples of industries/professions that
have been wiped out because of a change in laws.

I am NOT looking for examples of industries/professions wiped out
because of a new technology.  For example, I don?t need to hear about
the Betamax being wiped out by VHS VCRs ? that was because of
technology, not because of legislation.

Similarly I don?t want to hear that the profession of ?door-to-door
encyclopedia salesperson? was wiped out ? again, that was because of a
new technology (encyclopedias on CDs), not because selling
door-to-door was outlawed, or a law allowed some dominant group that
was once prohibited from selling encyclopedias to start doing so.

A final example of what won?t work as an example: telemarketing.  The
government passed the Do Not Call legislation, but telemarketers still
exist.  That industry is less lucrative than it once was, but it still
exists.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 23 Sep 2005 06:59 PDT

Mass-faxing advertising services have pretty much been legislated out
of business by laws imposing hosting fines for unsolicited faxes.

Does that count?

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by steve_in_ca-ga on 23 Sep 2005 09:43 PDT

I agree that this legislation that would allow banks to offer direct
real estate services may not completely wipe out the professions of
Realtors and mortgage brokers.  That's definitely a worst-case
scenario that might not occur, but it is certainly possible.

Still, it would really help me in my giving my speech if I had a few
examples of professions/industries that were eliminated by legislation
or legal changes.  I'd be willing to settle for 2-3 good examples,
instead of the 3-5 in my original request.

Thanks!

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Clarification of Question by steve_in_ca-ga on 23 Sep 2005 20:15 PDT

The fundraiser that I will be speaking at is for a state politician
who is opposing the legislation that would allow banks to offer real
estate transactions.  This fundraiser is being sponsored by realtors
and mortgage brokers.  The general gist of my presentation needs to
be: "We (realtors and mortgage brokers) need to work together and stop
this legislation.  Otherwise we could become like X (where "X" is some
profession or industry that got legislated out of existence)."

I hope that clarifies it.  Maybe there just aren't any good examples. 
But I'm hopeful that if somebody can come up with one or two good
ones, that would really help make my speech a success.

> That industry is less lucrative than it once was, 
> but it still exists.

I was going to suggest prostitution -- but it still exists.
Home brewing of alcohol -- still exists.
Resale of tickets -- scalpers still exist.

I think the best you might do are places where the state has set
monopoly rules for business segments.   Some examples are state liquor
stores in OH, MN, WA;  or monopolies on ferry service as WA has had
periodically.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Your example with real estate broking by banks does not hold true in
Germany, where many banks provide this service through subsidiaries
(maybe also directly, I am not sure).  Sure, the banks may have an
inside track to their customers and may also make getting a mortgage
easier, since they know the customer's financial situation, but this
does not seem to have put independent brokers out of business.

Environmental protection laws in California have certainly made life
more difficult and expensive for the timber industry and timber
landowners, making it more attractive for the latter to sell to Nature
Conservancy and get out of the forest industry.

Looking back and Omnivorous's comment, I could suggest that some
government legislation can put a premium on services and products that
the lawmakers wanted to eliminate:  prostitution and prohibition,
maybe even tobacco, which is a perverse example.  They want to tax
cigarettes off the market, happily collecting the tax (not just in
USA), so a small increase in price gets unnoticed.

Steve, thanks for your response.
I have been searching with:  legislation "negative impact" OR ruined
Not very productive, maybe there are better search techniques.
Here are a couple of "negative impacts":

http://www.mindbranch.com/products/R1-3101.html

http://www.apec.org/apec/news___media/2004_media_releases/130304_euchemdlgharmful.html

The following is probably not useful, but an example of protective
legislation having a negative impact on people in other countries. 
See the next to last paragraph under Food Security.
http://archive.greenpeace.org/geneng/reports/misc/foodsecurity.htm

There was a stronger statement somewhere else in the article. 
European Union legislation protecting and subsidizing farmers (ditto
for US legislation) does have a negative impact on 3rd world
producers, but I expect this is not what you are looking for.

Perhaps you can help open our eyes.
Speech at a fund raiser?  Audience orientation?
Political, industry, ...?

Myoarin

NOw Omnivorous's comment reminds me  - monopolies:
Thirsty years ago in Germany, either new legislation or a case under
existing legislation gave or upheld the state railway's monopoly on
inter-city public transport, putting private bus lines out of business
in some areas.  The monopoly still exists, or at least appears to,
although the rail system as been privatized and some routes spun off.
Interesting new question for me:  is that legislation still effective,
if not, why have bus lines not been reestablished??

But again, a German example probably is literally far fetched for your
purpose.  Maybe it can joggle someone else's mind.

Hi Steve,
Thanks for tracking me down at my question.  I am real glad that I
could help and especially that your speech was a success. Your
question is still open so I will post my comments there, as you could
have.  GA doesn't like people to included e*mail addresses.
Actually, I was rather dubious about your theme, but Glass-Stiegal was
a good example, although I feel that it was justified.  In Germany,
banks are sometimes suspected of recommending stocks they want to get
off their own books.  Just this week, when Porsche announced that it
was taking a 20% interest in VW, the Deutsche Bank immediately put out
a "sell" recommendation, and then reversed that to a "buy" the next
day.  The stock dropped 10% and then rose 8%.  Hmmm?

Anyway, I hope the fundraiser was a success  - maybe thanks to repeal
of prohibition.

Oh, almost forgot:  only GA-Researchers like Omnivorous-ga, whose
names appear in blue can "answer" questions.  My comments are free,
but many thanks for your suggestion that they could have been an
answer.
Regards, Myoarin