Unsurprisingly, the reason this has become an issue is crony capitalism on a micro level. “One of the men that cuts several yards made a remark to one of our neighbors, ‘that if he saw her cutting grass again that he was going to call Gardendale because she didn’t have a business license,’” said Elton Campbell, whose granddaughter is one of the kids affected by the business license requirement.
The most likely explanation is that the teenagers were offering a better price for lawn care, and rather than fairly competing in the market by lowering prices or providing better service, this business decided to get local government involved to quash the competition.
Of course, the underlying problem is not the man who threatened to call the city, but rather the fact that the law exists for him to manipulate to his advantage.
Source: Fox 23