Another voice entered the debate about Shawnee Co. Commissioner Shelly Buhler’s proposal to sell the Shawnee County refuse and recycling service. Today the Libertarians of Northeast Kansas (LNEK) announced their support for Buhler’s proposal.
“When it comes to government services, I use the Yellow Pages Rule,” said Sharon DuBois, co-chair of LNEK. “If it’s a service that is offered by a private company in the yellow pages, the government should not offer that service. It’s simply not appropriate for government to use taxpayer dollars to compete against private business.”
The local Libertarian group points out that such government-owned services enjoy cost exemptions not offered to the privately-owned businesses that they compete against. County-owned refuse services do not pay property taxes, business licensing fees, corporate fees, or income taxes on the apparent $2.8 million of profits they earned in the last four years. All of these exemptions give the government-run service an unfair advantage over their private competitors and stifle growth and innovation.
DuBois added, “Politicians talk about wanting smaller government, but few have the political courage to actually reduce the size of government. This is an easy one, and all Shawnee County residents should encourage their commissioners to vote for smaller government.”
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Sharon DuBois, Co-Chair LNEK liberty43@cox.net
Stacey Davis, LPKS Policy Researcher (785) 231-9524 Policy@lpks.org
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