Private citizen Steve Parker spoke up as a satisfied customer of Deep South Sanitation, and a dissatisfied former customer of the other trash company, wondering “What’s wrong with competition?” in yesterday’s Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

Mr. Raines said it beautifully, wanting freedom in his prayer. I agree with him, wanting the freedom to make a choice, so I hired Deep South. Now I’m told that it’s been the position of the board to dismantle Deep South, to tell him to cease and desist, and to take away his business license which he got from the previous board. I know a lot of you inherited this issue, by the way. But at the same time, what is the greater good being served to the county? Why are we taking a family owned business and running them out of business in effect?

What’s wrong with competition? I’m in the financial business and if somebody would give me an exclusive to every client in Lowndes County that would be a pretty good day for me.

He continued to say granting a private company a monopoly makes no sense to him.

Hm, he said he lives in Stone Creek and gets county water. I wonder if he knows the quality of the water the county provides there?

What’s the next step? Tell me what plumber to use? Tell me what financial advisor to use? Tell me what service industry to use, whether it’s air conditioning, heating, or whatever the case may be? I don’t understand.

Hm, heating and air, like the Chairman’s company? (I see the VDT didn’t use that example in their writeup.) I don’t understand, either, and the Chairman refuses to explain.

If we took a vote … of the general population of Lowndes County and said … you can vote to have a choice in your garbage collection, or you can vote that we’re going to make you use a certain company. What would that vote be?
[applause]

And how will the people vote in Commissioner elections next year?

There’s more in the video:

Why are we running a family owned business out of business? –Steve Parker
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 28 May 2013.

-jsq

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