Be fair with private gyms

When the owner of a major private health club told state lawmakers last week he was tired of competing with government-run recreation centers, he was sounding a familiar theme.

Governments have an interest in providing, at low cost, things that benefit the community as a whole. But in doing so, they often draw near to the thin line that separates such efforts from private-sector entrepreneurs who are working hard to satisfy a market demand.

Take libraries, for example. The community benefits from a source of books that can be loaned for free. But surely book stores suffer somewhat as a result. Video store owners complained loudly years ago when libraries began offering movies.

Generally, though, the public, including store owners, have been satisfied that libraries do more good than harm.

Other cases are not so clear. A local toy store owner complained three years ago that the planetarium and the University of Utah's Museum of Natural History had jointly opened a store down the way in the same mall, and they were offering many of the same items he sold. This was upsetting, he said, because he was forced to pay taxes that were, in part, subsidizing his competition.

Sometimes, government decides to play favorites among private business owners. The Treasury Department, for instance, introduced the Sacagawea dollar a few years ago through Wal-Mart stores exclusively. Other times, governments intrude where private business already is filling a need. This happened when federal penitentiaries decided to use prisoners to stitch military dress uniforms that were being made by a 73-year-old textile plant in New Jersey. The government could legally pay its prison workers between 25 cents and $1.60 an hour, something with which the textile plant could not compete.

So what of recreation centers? Do they do more good than harm?

To be sure, government has an interest in building them. Too many Americans are obese and sedentary. Recreation centers offer ways to encourage people to exercise in an informal, low-cost setting.

But when they offer fancy rock-climbing walls and high-tech equipment at a fraction of the cost of a private gym, that's a concern. It's especially vexing when government facilities don't have to pay taxes for the classes or equipment offered.

All the private business owners ask for is a little fairness. That seems reasonable.

A legislative tax-study committee is looking at this issue. It ought to search for a way to at least take away the tax advantages public recreation centers enjoy in areas where they compete most directly with the private sector.