Sanitation Without Representation?

Much has been made of the recent Tea Party revolt over a plan by Fountain Hills, Ariz., to contract with one company to collect residential trash and recycling, replacing the previous system that let residents choose from five different haulers. Eliciting terms like “socialism” and “trashcare” (equating the move to “Obamacare,” the Tea Partiers’ derisive term for last year’s health care reforms), the decision has set off protests and seemingly a national outcry.

I'm interested in what our readers think about this story. Setting aside the fact that countless municipalities across the country already contract with a single waste company for collection services, do the protesters in this case have a valid point? Or is this much ado about nothing?