I dunno... there's a lot of vets out there that I wouldn't let touch my pets. I wouldn't have a problem with a tech doing some things to my pets if they weren't certified, as long as they had been taught how to do said things by a vet I trusted. I do understand how you are appalled at the leagalities behind it all though.
When I worked at a vet clinic, quite a few years ago, the techs were allowed to do the cat neuters with a vet near by. I always thought that was kinda cool.