Wednesday
Sep242008
« Socialized garbage hits you in your wallet »
Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 12:49AM
Tonight I received a letter in the mail from my current garbage hauler, Allied Waste. The letter stated the following:
Even though I have been a satisfied customer of Allied Waste since 2000, I can no longer choose to use them thanks to the Gwinnett County Commission. They obviously feel they are better qualified to choose with which company I do business for trash collection. Funny, I had no problem with that decision for my eight years as a Gwinnett homeowner. In fact, there are some waste companies with whom I do not wish to do business. I used to receive routine mailers from one hauler that touted their Homeowners Association services. Being that I abhor homeowners associations, I would rather not do business with a company who makes blatent catering to these organizations a cornerstone of their business. However, thanks to Gwinnett's new socialized garbage program, I may not have a choice if they "assign" that company to my area.
The second paragraph is what really steams me. Thanks to a decision that I did not make, a decision that I feel is completely unnecessary and an abuse of government power, I have to bear an additional charge as a result. In fact this letter simply demonstrates a point that I made in April about the effect of the elimination of competition on service delivery. Allied Wastes knows that I no longer have any say in which company provides my garbage service. Therefore, they can cram a cost increase down my throat to cover their business costs without fear of any consequences. Sure, I intend to call and insist on a credit for this amount but what leverage do I have? I cannot threaten to change haulers. I could call my commissioner Mike Beaudreau, but what good would that do? He is a member of the board that foisted this program on us and would likely be sympathetic to Allied's claim that they need this cost recovery increase. I ask you, dear reader, can we not already see the first evidence of what eliminating competition does to the consumer? So let me say thanks to Lorraine Green, Bert Nasuti, Mike Beaudreau, Kevin Kenerly and Charles Bannister for looking out for me so well. Thanks to you, I, along with probably the vast majority of your constituents, get to see a nearly a 50% increase in this quarter's garbage bill.
To my fellow Gwinnett residents who may receive the same or similar letters in your fourth quarter bill, I encourage you to be vocal about this. Call your garbage hauler and insist on a credit for any increase. It will likely do no good, but they should be made aware that we are still their customers and we are not happy. In addition, I urge you to write your commissioner and Chairman Charles Bannister. Chairman Bannister told us during a candidates' forums this summer that residents could contact him with service problems related to the new socialized garbage program. Sounds like now is the time to start. The bottomline is speak up! Make your voice heard! So long as you do not voice your displeasure, politicians will continue to treat you like children that need to have their hand held while telling you to pay for the comfort they are providing. The elections are effectively over and the socialized garbage program is a done deal. However, if we are vocal enough, perhaps we can head another overstep of government authority or perhaps even eventually convice the board to repeal this anti-free market, anti-consumer program.
Dear Valued Customer:
There have been some recent developments in Gwinnett County that will bring major changes to your household trash and recycling service. Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful Services, Inc. has been selected by Gwinnett County to manage all residential solid waste services within the county. This agency is currently soliciting bids from contractors to provide these services to all residents in unincorporated Gwinnett County. Effective 01/01/09, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful Services, Inc. will assign a contractor to your residence and determine your service level. Unless Allied Waste is selected as your service provider, we will only be allowed to continue your current service through 12/31/08.
Because of these changes, we find it necessary to increase your quarterly service fee between now and the end of 2008 to help recover some of the costs associated with closing out your account, collecting carts and bins, etc. Your invoice (which is being sent separately) will reflect this increase. We regret the need to raise the service charge as a result of our increased costs, and certainly the potential loss of your business, but actions beyond our control make this unavoidable.
Even though I have been a satisfied customer of Allied Waste since 2000, I can no longer choose to use them thanks to the Gwinnett County Commission. They obviously feel they are better qualified to choose with which company I do business for trash collection. Funny, I had no problem with that decision for my eight years as a Gwinnett homeowner. In fact, there are some waste companies with whom I do not wish to do business. I used to receive routine mailers from one hauler that touted their Homeowners Association services. Being that I abhor homeowners associations, I would rather not do business with a company who makes blatent catering to these organizations a cornerstone of their business. However, thanks to Gwinnett's new socialized garbage program, I may not have a choice if they "assign" that company to my area.
The second paragraph is what really steams me. Thanks to a decision that I did not make, a decision that I feel is completely unnecessary and an abuse of government power, I have to bear an additional charge as a result. In fact this letter simply demonstrates a point that I made in April about the effect of the elimination of competition on service delivery. Allied Wastes knows that I no longer have any say in which company provides my garbage service. Therefore, they can cram a cost increase down my throat to cover their business costs without fear of any consequences. Sure, I intend to call and insist on a credit for this amount but what leverage do I have? I cannot threaten to change haulers. I could call my commissioner Mike Beaudreau, but what good would that do? He is a member of the board that foisted this program on us and would likely be sympathetic to Allied's claim that they need this cost recovery increase. I ask you, dear reader, can we not already see the first evidence of what eliminating competition does to the consumer? So let me say thanks to Lorraine Green, Bert Nasuti, Mike Beaudreau, Kevin Kenerly and Charles Bannister for looking out for me so well. Thanks to you, I, along with probably the vast majority of your constituents, get to see a nearly a 50% increase in this quarter's garbage bill.
To my fellow Gwinnett residents who may receive the same or similar letters in your fourth quarter bill, I encourage you to be vocal about this. Call your garbage hauler and insist on a credit for any increase. It will likely do no good, but they should be made aware that we are still their customers and we are not happy. In addition, I urge you to write your commissioner and Chairman Charles Bannister. Chairman Bannister told us during a candidates' forums this summer that residents could contact him with service problems related to the new socialized garbage program. Sounds like now is the time to start. The bottomline is speak up! Make your voice heard! So long as you do not voice your displeasure, politicians will continue to treat you like children that need to have their hand held while telling you to pay for the comfort they are providing. The elections are effectively over and the socialized garbage program is a done deal. However, if we are vocal enough, perhaps we can head another overstep of government authority or perhaps even eventually convice the board to repeal this anti-free market, anti-consumer program.
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