I have heard that Mackinac Island is planning to expand their franchise prerogatives to allow only one ferry line service to the Island. Granting a monopoly on service to the Island is a major error because:

1. As with all monopolies, the result will be a poorer quality of ferry service at a higher price.

2. By “taking” a previously allowed business, the Island can expect to be sued for the lost value and lose, probably millions of dollars.

3. There are other businesses in partnership with each ferry line. These businesses can be expected to suffer greatly, perhaps even fail, hurting the economy of the entire Straits region.

4. If “excess capacity” is the argument for forcing ferry lines out of business, can we then expect Mackinac Island to continue to weed out excess capacity by mandating a reduction in the number of hotels as well, thus eliminating excess capacity in that industry?

This is a poorly considered move that would generate huge costs to all businesses in the region as well as a potential staggering legal cost to the City of Mackinac Island.

Dick Moehl Mackinaw City