Campbell University in Buies Creek, which is a non-profit, government-subsidized college, runs a laundry and dry cleaning business. The University advertises the service in local newspapers and directly competes with for-profit, unsubsidized laundry and dry cleaning businesses in Harnett County. My guess is that Campbell is not alone among colleges and universities that use their tax status and subsidies to pursue business ventures that have nothing to do with their education missions.
The question is, is this unfair competition? Also, while I presume this sort of thing is legal, the public policy question is,
should it be?
