Talking Trash and Health Care Reform

There is an uproar in Gwinnett County, Georgia. We, as county residents, were informed by letter that there would be changes in how our trash is picked up from our homes. Where previously we could choose our trash hauler, we are now being assigned a trash hauler—based on the zone in which we live. Furthermore, instead of paying the new garbage hauling company directly, the costs of our trash pickup will be added to our property tax statements. “Ouch!” I just received the Notice of Taxes from the Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner.

I, along with most county residents, received the notice of the impending change early last month. A few days later my new rolling trash can was delivered to my driveway. After sitting several weeks on the side of my shed awaiting the predetermined date when my new hauler would begin servicing our family and our neighbors, it has now been placed into service and has functioned in its purpose a couple of times.

The mandated change determining who would be hauling our trash has not been embraced by all county residents. Instead, some have responded with a fervor not seen around Atlanta since Michael Vick’s dog fighting activity was exposed. Why the tumult? Is it because so many of us don’t like the new plan? Or, is it more about the difficulty we often have with change? Answering these questions not only exposes the driving force behind much of the outrage in the county, but it also exposes the reasons why some Americans cannot fathom embracing any significant health care reform.