The mayor's $1.6 million transportation plan is the wrong plan for Nashville.

by Rod Williams - Last week, the Metro Council passed a $1.6 million transportation plan. The Executive summary says, "Mayor Cooper is delivering on his commitment to produce a new people first transportation strategy within his first year of office: Metro Nashville’s Transportation Plan proposes $1.6 billion in critical projects for community resilience, neighborhood livability, shared prosperity, and system preservation and performance."

What that pablum means is a better bus service, 19 miles of Bus Rapid Transit, more sidewalks and crosswalks, a Traffic Operations Center and signal synchronization, bikeways, greenways, improvement to enhance pedestrian safety, road maintenance, some green strips along some roads and a few other things. 

The report is chocked full of liberal pablum and woke political correctness telling us, "... while the national movement for racial equality seeks change that addresses past injustices, including our investments in mobility and use of public spaces. Equity goes beyond jobs, attainable housing, and educational opportunities. It also means ensuring that our streets treat all modes of travel with equal care."  In another place the plan tells us, "It is not surprising that some of the most important moments in the fight for equal rights throughout this country’s history have taken place on buses, bridges, and streets." On tone alone and woke gobbledygook, I would almost have to vote against it had I a vote.

The plan spends no money but that does not make it harmless.  Metro intends to pay for these improvements with annual capital budgeting and with state and federal grants.   With a plan in place we may be eligible for some grants and the grants will likely be matching grants and then the argument will be we already have an approved plan, so we have an obligation to fulfill the plan.  We can't reject the grant to fund our plan, we have to welcome the money and fund the match. 

I oppose this plan and would have voted against it, if I had a vote.  First of all we can repair roads without saying so in a plan so some of this is useless. Secondly, we should not even be talking about sidewalks unless it is to talk about why our current sidewalk plan is a failure.  We routinely rip out sidewalks showing only minor ware and tear and replace them with new clean sidewalks.  We spend millions on sidewalks already and get almost no new sidewalks to show for it. Rather than come up with a plan for more sidewalks, we should investigate why we waste so much money with almost no sidewalks to show for it.

Thirdly, we just had a 34% tax increase and if we keep spending money and committing to spend more money, we will have to have another tax increase.  Now is a time when we should be looking for ways to save money, not spend more.  Also, there is a move afoot to roll back the 34% tax increase.  Enough signatures were gathered to put that proposed roll-back on a public referendum but a court ruled the wording  to be technically inadequate and the proposal did not make it to the ballot.  That fight may not be over.  The wording of the proposal has been reworked to address the judges concerns and the drive to gather petitions signatures to put the question back on the ballot may began soon after the first of the year.  The city should be looking at ways to get by with less, not new ways to spend money.

Fourth, in my view, large buses on a fixed route is yesterday's way of moving people. New technologies are going to make fix-route mass transit obsolete.  If one notices almost any bus, except in the morning rush hour, you will see an empty bus or a bus with one or maybe two passengers.  We still may need some rush hour buses on major corridors but the service needs to shrink, not expand.  The Covid-19 pandemic indicates that it is not wise to confine a large number of people in a container with no air circulation.  The Covid-19 pandemic also may have reduced the need for mass transit and added roadway capacity with more people working from home.  Post-Covid-19 this trend of people working from home is likely to continue.

Fifth, where the plan could have been bold and called for what is sometimes called "smart traffic," instead it only calls for an upgrade to our existing system of traffic light synchronization. Smart traffic is a system in which the whole system is adjusted in real time so that one does not set at traffic lights that are red when there is no cross traffic.  These systems are working to amazing success in some parts of the world, reducing travel times and need for roadway expansions. For links to more on "smart traffic, follow this link. 

There is much wrong with this plan.  I think we have made traffic worse in recent years by taking roadway capacity and turn lanes for bike lanes that are almost never used. We have also taken many streets and reduced the number of lanes and attempted to do so on other streets but backed off in the face of public opposition. In my part of town, we reduced roadway capacity on Belmont Blvd., 12th Ave South, 10th Ave. South and tried to do so on 8th Ave. South.  As a result 12th Ave South as become a lively commercial community.  I like it.  However, when you take away that many options for heading south out of town, you slow traffic and create traffic congestion. That should be studied and the policy reversed before we move forward with more plans to spend more money. 

 I also wonder how much we spend on the name change from "MTA" to "WeGo" for our buss system.  If that is how we spend our transportation dollars, we don't need to be giving the city more money to spend.  I like the part about repairing roads but we don't need that to be part of some new plan.  It is a budgeting priority issue.  I like the new emphasis on pedestrian safety.  I walk almost every day and cars just ignore the pedestrian signaled crosswalks.  One is taking their life in the hand crossing a street. We needs enforcement of existing laws.  Police need to write tickets when people turn on yellow or turn while a pedestrian is in the crosswalk.  I am not sure we need a new comprehensive plan to improve pedestrian traffic safety. 

I have not read the full report but read enough to know I do not support it. For more of my thoughts on transportation see, What to do about Mass Transit and traffic congestion.

To read the complete 384-page plan follow this link.

For news reports on the plan see link, link, link. and link. 

Top Stories

Federal judge denies Nashville bar owners' second request to halt COVID-19 restrictions

Federal judge denies Nashville bar owners' second request to halt COVID-19 restrictions

Top Stories

Families Flock to the Nashville Suburbs for Good Schools, Low Taxes and Some Southern Charm

By Beth DeCarbo, Wall Street Journal,  Dec. 17, 2020 11:00 - In downtown Franklin, Tenn., a giant Christmas tree and Victorian-era storefronts draw flocks of shoppers in search of very merry merchandise. This chic charm is wooing scores of new home buyers, too. 

 “We love the downtown,” says Daniel Piraino. “We love being outside, walking early and late and feeling secure.” He and his wife, Laura Piraino, moved from Wilmington, Del., to Franklin last year and recently paid $2.1 million for a roughly 6,000-square-foot brownstone that is located just off Main Street. Young families relocate to Williamson County because it has some of the highest-ranked schools in the state, Ms. Stanton adds. According to the Tennessee Department of Education, in 2018-19, 77.9% of high-school students in Williamson County demonstrated readiness for college and careers. Statewide, 40.7% of high-school students demonstrated such readiness. (link)

Top Stories

How members of the Council voted on derailing the closing of Bordeaux Nursing Home.

by Rod Williams - On the December 1st agenda of the Metro Council was a resolution asking the mayor to stop the process of winding down the closing of the Metro-owned long-term care nursing home in the Bordeaux community of Nashville. The facility at that time had less than 15 people remaining at the site. Metro has been in the process of finding other homes for the residence since September and has placed approximately one hundred residents elsewhere. It is not anticipated there will be difficulty in finding beds for the remaining patients at Bordeaux as there is adequate capacity at nearby facilities. The rational for halting the closing of the facility was to keep the residents safely in place during the pandemic.

In my view, this effort to slow the closing of Bordeaux was wrong and the pandemic was just an excuse. If they had successfully delayed the closing, there might have developed a move to "save" Bordeaux and it might have never closed. This nursing home should have been closed long ago and, in fact, Metro should never have gotten in the nursing home business in the first place.

Medicaid was passed into law in 1965. By that act, the poor were no longer dependent on charity. The poor were given choices. At that time, Metro operated a charity hospital. We still do. Bordeaux did not open until 1967. We should never have gotten in the nursing home business. With the passage of Medicare we did not need to provide this service. Metro subsidizes Boudreaux nursing home to the tune of $6 million a year. 

With the failure to pass this resolution, it finally looks like we are finally getting out of the nursing home business. There is no talk however of closing Metro's charity hospital. With Nashville broke and Metro General a big money pit, unable to fill its beds, and an unnecessary expense, now would be a good time to close General also. Unfortunately, instead of finding ways to cut expenses, the Mayor and the Council would rather just keep raising taxes. Former Mayor Megan Barry half-heartily tried closing General but apparently was too distracted by her affair with her police body guard to do the heavy lifting necessary to make it happen. At this time there is not even any talk of closing General. In fact, Metro General is laying the ground work to ask to build a new facility to replace the current hospital. 

Signature HealthCARE has been the operator of the Bordeaux nursing home for the last six years and their contract is expiring in January. Prior to 2014, Metro actually operated the facility and the staff were metro employees. In 2014 the city had the good sense to privatize the operation of the facility and it is now operated by Signature. Metro sent out an RFP for an operator and neither Signature nor anyone else submitted a proposal. No private company wants to manage Bordeaux. Bordeaux has been unable to fill its beds and before the start of the winddown was operating at only one-third of its licensed capacity. 

Bordeaux is rated 1-out-of-5-stars by CMS. That means it is one of the worst nursing homes.  It is the bottom of the barrel. We should be ashamed to be associated with such a facility and pleased to see it closed. Finally, Metro is closing the Boudreaux nursing home and the site will be redeveloped.

The correct vote on this resolution was to vote "no."  

Here is how members of the Council voted:

Yes: Rosenberg, Hurt, Toombs, OConnell, and Taylor,  

No: Mendes, Allen, Parker, Withers, Benedict, VanReece, Hagar, Evans, Bradford, Rhoten, Syracuse, Cash, Hausser, Druffel, Pulley, Johnston, Nash, and Rutherford 

Absent: Henderson, Glover, Suara, Hall, Gamble, Swope, Hancock, Young, Welsch, Sledge, Vercher, Porterfield, Sepulveda, and Styles 

Abstain: Roberts, Murphy, and Lee

If you are not sure who your council member is you can use this look up tool to find out.  If you want to put a face with the name, follow this link. 

Top Stories

Only 15 percent of Tennessee Republicans believe Biden won election

By Carrie Moore, Vanderbilt University - Only 12% of Republican voters in Tennessee are confident that nationwide votes were counted fairly and accurately, as compared to 97% of Democrats. Even when assessing the accuracy of the vote count within the state, Republicans still expressed more doubt about the accuracy of the results than did Democrats.

Such a finding suggests that Trump’s attacks on the process extend to red states and his own supporters.

Almost a month after Election Day, only 15% of Republicans polled think Joe Biden is the legitimate winner of the presidential election, while 70% think Biden is trying to “steal the election.” 

By contrast, 95% of Democrats polled think Biden is the legitimate winner, and 70% think President Trump is trying to steal the election. In addition, 35% of Republicans did not think President Trump should concede after the Electoral College certifies their votes. 

“In no other time in recent history have we seen voters so skeptical and dissatisfied with election results,” Geer said. “Even those voters satisfied with the outcome remain concerned that the opponent is trying to steal the election. Such obstinance must be curbed or could result in a long-term decline in the public’s faith in democratic institutions.” (link)

Top Stories

The Beacon Center's 12 days of pork, #8: Valets should pay.

The Beacon Center- At a time when Nashville has abused our tax dollars in the midst of a crisis and is now hitting up taxpayers for even more money, we hate to be the bearers of bad news but it gets even worse. 

Because of a poorly-negotiated and even more poorly-executed deal, Nashville is losing out on even more money than we originally thought due to its own negligence. If you’ve been in downtown Nashville anytime recently, you’ve probably noticed that valet stands have started to replace metered parking spaces. What you probably don’t realize is that per metered parking space, Nashville collects on average over $6,000 annually. Each valet stand takes up about three spaces, which is over $18,000 per stand per year that the city could be taking in each year to offset some of their more egregious expenses. 

The law does state that the business that’s utilizing the valet stand must pay the city the amount that is lost, plus a $50 fee per stand. Unfortunately, Nashville isn’t actually collecting the money. That’s right, the city has never collected the revenue that is due to them. So next time you get a tax bill from Nashville, do the math and see how many lost parking spaces it would take to cover it for you. 

Solution: City governments should honor taxpayers above all else in deals they make with private entities, from the front-end when making the deal all the way through enforcement. 

 on the eighth day of Christmas, the government gave to me… parking spots that are basically free

Top Stories

Tennessee is the top state for fiscal stability

by Rod Williams - US News and World Repot in its  Dec. 11, 2020 editions ranks Tennessee as the top state for fiscal stability. It’s followed by Florida, South Dakota, North Carolina and Utah to round out the top five.  The study looks at things like government credit rating scores, pension fund liability, budget balancing and liquidly. 

While some states are on the verge of bankruptcy, Tennessee is not. We are the most fiscally sound state in the nation.  Unfortunately, if Democrats get complete control of the federal government we who live in states that managed our finances well will no doubt have to bail out those that did not. 

As a city, Nashville would not rank well in a similar ranking except that most cities of any size are controlled by Democrats also and the majority are mismanaged. So despite Nashville's mismanagement, by comparison Nashville might not rank so terrible. We might be less bad than some other poorly managed Democrat governed cities.  

Nashville does not calculate as a liability its health care benefits to retried employees and our pension liability continues to grow and our response to increased cost for services is to raise taxes rather than control spending and we have allowed our reserve funds to shrink to dangerously low levels.  

Luckily, Nashville's mismanagement does not impact the State's ranking.  The state and the city are different entities. The State is not responsible for the fiscal management of the cities, so as citizens of the state of Tennessee we have good fiscally responsible governance, while as citizens of Nashville we have fiscally irresponsible governance. 

I am proud of the job our Republican-led State is doing.  It matters who governs. 

 

For more information follow this link. 

Top Stories

Rev. Al Sharpton hired by TSU as a Distinguished Guest Lecturer to teach in the area of political science grounded in social justice.

Tennessee State University announced it has hired MSNBC host and progressive activist Rev. Al Sharpton as a Distinguished Guest Lecturer.

Beginning in January 2021, Sharpton will teach “in the area of political science grounded in social justice during the academic term.” (link)

by Rod Williams- This is an embarrassment. Al Sharpton is an anti-Semite, a race-baiter, and a con artist.  The State legislature should reduce any appropriation to Tennessee State University equal to the amount of money paid to Al Sharpton. 
 

Top Stories

The Road to socialism should not run through Georgia. Now is the time to step up to the plate. Freedom hangs in the balance.

by Rod Williams, 12/15/2020 - Yesterday early voting started in Georgia for the January 5 Senate runoff elections.  Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock are challenging incumbent GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. These races weren't decided in November's elections because no one received a majority of the vote in either contest so the top two vote-getters in each race are in a runoff. Early voting ends on December 31. 

One has heard so often that a particular election is the most important election of our lifetime that after a while it just becomes empty noise. They can't all be the most important. But this time, I really believe that the Georgia runoff elections for Georgia's U. S. Senate races may very well, in fact. be the most important election of our life time.  If we lose Georgia there is nothing stopping the Democrats from adopting their radical agenda. While I don't think Biden is the most dangerous candidate the Democrat Party could have nominated, he will not buck the radicals in the Party. He has already essentially adopted their agenda. 

 The whole party has moved to the left and they will adopt policies that will destroy America if they have the votes. If David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler lose their races for the Senate in Georgia, Democrats will take complete and total control of Congress. Chuck Shumer becomes the Senate Majority leader.

 I don't tend to be an alarmist. There is often a kind of ebb and flow to politics. But I see our Republic as hanging by a thread. If we lose Georgia, we may be on the road to becoming Venezuela. Georgia stands between us and America becoming a socialist nation. We may never have another competitive fair election. Stacking the deck by giving statehood to D.C and Puerto Rico combined with the institutionalization of massive use of mail-in ballots and things like same-day voter registration and practices that prohibit making voters prove who they are, may mean Republicans never again win national elections. 

What can we look forward to if Democrats gain control of the Senate? Packing the Supreme Court, Medicare for all, the Green New Deal, loss of our Second Amendment rights, statehood for Washington D. C. and Puerto Rico, open borders and the most massive wave of illegal immigrants we have ever experienced, student loan forgiveness and free college tuition, higher taxes, cuts to military funding, a revival of the long dormant Equal Rights Amendment, abolishing the electoral college, defunding the police, a universal $15 an hour minimum wage, ending the filibuster and more. It also means no investigation of the Biden family influence peddling in Ukraine, China and Russia. 

The Green New Deal alone would impoverish the nation and destroy our economy. With the Green New Deal passed, government will grow to alleviate the misery caused by the policy.  Government will respond to the economic crisis caused by the Green New Deal with more redistribution, wage and price controls and more tax and spend. What is left of a free market economy will disappear and a growth in police state authority will follow. 

 "Wait a minute," some will say.  "Some of what you say will happen, they can't do. It would take a constitutional amendment to curtail the Second Amendment and abolish the Electoral College and the States would have to ratify statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico."  Normally, that would be true, but if Democrats control the Senate and they pack the Court, they can do whatever they want to do.  A Supreme Court dominated by liberal jurist will find ways to accommodate the desires of a Democrat Congress. 

Curtailing the Second Amendment will be accomplished by a mandatory "buy-back" program and liberal jurist will find it compatible with the Constitution.  Liberal jurist are not so immoral that they will just let Democrats do what ever they please, but the judicial philosophy of liberal jurist is that the Constitution is a living document. This judicial philosophy holds that the Constitution was intentionally written using broad language and concepts which should evolve as society evolves.  Liberal jurist look not to what the meaning was of the original text but what was the underlying purpose of the constitutional provision. This view can essentially remove any restraints on Congress. A Court packed with activist judges will find a way to allow curtailment of the Second Amendment, abolishing the Electoral College and Statehood of D. C. and Puerto Rico. With the Court packed there are no constitutional constraints. 

Liberals are going all out to win Georgia.  Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said herself that she is putting every effort into winning Georgia so she, “doesn’t have to negotiate with Republicans.” Democrats are pouring millions of dollars into Georgia to win votes.  An army of Democrats are pouring into the state to door knock for the Democrat nominees. They are even encouraging people to move to Georgia and register to vote.  While few Republicans could do that, there are a lot of young people without roots or jobs that tie them down that may very well temporarily become Georgians just so they can vote in this election.  

Republicans also have a disadvantage in this election, in that Georgia has permitted voter fraud to occur. Georgia is not the worst offender among the states that made it easy to cheat but this run off election may be so close that  little cheating goes a long way.  We have to win Georgia by enought votes to make up for the voter fraud margin. Georgia has not adopted mail-in voting, but has liberally allowed absentee voting. Over 150,000 people in Georgia voted absentee in the November election. There were proven incidents in Georgia of over 1000 people voting twice; voting absentee and then also voting in person. There is no way to know how many actually did this; 1000 were detected.  

Georgia also allowed "ballot curing."  This is the practice of allowing one whose absentee ballot has been rejected due to a missing signature of for some other reason, up to three days to correct the mistake.  This is not fraud per se but Democrats had trained activists to help people “cure” ballots that had been rejected on Election Day."  I think this practice should be banned, but if it is not, then I hope Republicans also have an army of people available to help Republicans "cure" ballots. If Republicans do not get up to speed and commit to matching the Democrats in "curing" ballots, Democrats may win in a close election. I have not heard of Republicans training people in this unsavory practice but I hope they have done so. 

Republicans must pull out all of the stops to win Georgia. They have stepped up their game, thank goodness, but is it enough?   They have more and better trained poll watchers and more lawyers standing by.  I don't know who is ahead in fund raising in Georgia but Republicans are spending a vast sum.  I am doing my part.  I give money to candidates in races I care about from time to time, but my contributions are usually like a hundred dollars here and a hundred dollars there.  In this race I am doing more.  I have already given close to $3,000.   I am not revealing this to get a pat on the back but to encourage you to do the same. If I can do it, you can too.   I am not a wealthy person.  I am of modest means. I am retired and have a modest income.  But, I really believe this may be the most important election of my lifetime.  There are some probably reading this, who could give $10,000 or $20,000 and not miss it.

If you can't give much money, there are other ways to help.  One can go to Georgia and knock on doors. I have several friends who are in Georgia now doing that. Contact your local or State Republican Party and ask how you can volunteer.  If you can't pay your own expenses for this, the State Party or the campaign of the candidate may be willing to pay your expenses. Ask. In addition to the Party sending volunteers to Georgia, organizations like Heritage Action are also doing so. 

Another way you can help, besides giving money, is to sign up to make phone calls.  Sometimes this would be from a party headquarters, but often one can do it from the comfort of one's home.  I have done this.  Computer programs give you the name and address of who you are calling, the list has been developed so one is calling Republicans or persuadable voters, and the computer program dials the next number for you. You then enter the results of the effort in the data base. This may be even more important than a cash contribution.  

Ever year about this time I give money to various causes other than just political causes.  Within the next couple days or so, I will be doing that.  One thing I usually give money to are agencies that help the homeless.  What better way to fight future homelessness than to join the fight to keep America from becoming the next Venezuela. I have already decided some organization I have supported in the past are not getting a check from me this year. Most of my year-end giving is going to Georgia.  This year, I think giving money so Republicans hold Georgia is more important than a contribution to the Alzheimer's Association or the local Republican Party. I may dip into my child's inheritance.  I would rather leave her a free America than an extra thousand dollars. 

Some of you reading this, I know do more than I do, but some of you who could do something, don't.  If  you are an armchair opinionated Facebook patriot or a scholar of conservative thought but do not give money to things you profess to believe, now is the time.  Your country needs you. 

There are a lot ways to give money. The candidate's have their campaigns, which is how I have given most of my money, but there are also independent PAC's.  Newt Gringrich has a PAC, Mitch McConnell has a PAC, Rand Paul has a PAC and a bunch of other people all raising money off of the importance of saving. Georgia.  The problem with a PAC is that their fund-raising letter may say it is for the Georgia campaign but they may save the money to spend on different races.  I am giving to the candidates and here are links to their campaigns. 

Perdue for Senate

Georgians for Kelly Loeffler, the candidates campaign. 

Please give.  The road to socialism should not run through Georgia, Please do it. Freedom is in the balance. 

Top Stories

Robert Duvall, Rest in Peace

12/15/2020- Robert Duvall passed away yesterday from complications following surgery. He was 70 years old. He was a Republican State Executive Committee member, a former Metro Nashville Councilman, and a past Chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party. He served in the Council from 2007 to 2015 representing the Antioch area. During his time on the Council he was a leading conservative in that liberal body. 

Robert was a big personality. He had a ready smile and a firm enthusiastic hand shake. He was a good man and did much to promote conservative policies and values. His wife had been and invalid for many years and he cared for her at home. He was a good man. Rest in Peace.

Top Stories

Only an idiot would require a sidewalk to be build like this. Why can we not sanely build sidewalks?

 

by Rod Williams, 12/13/2020- Please look at these pictures.  This was taken yesterday while I was taking a walk, on a street that runs between Belmont Blvd. and 12th Ave. South.  Out of many city blocks with sidewalks, this is the only lot with a portion of the sidewalk not aligning with the existing sidewalk.  it sticks out like a sore thumb. This is nuts!  

Not only do we tear up perfectly good sidewalks to replace them with clean new sidewalks, and not only do we spend millions on building sidewalks but get almost no new sidewalks where sidewalks did not exist before to show for it, and not only do we burden homeowners who want to remodel there home by making them pay for new sidewalks, and not only do we increase the cost of housing and hasten the demise of affordable housing by our sidewalk policy, we also build sidewalks stupidly. 

For more on our inability to sanely build sidewalks see the following:

Perfectly Serviceable Sidewalks being Ripped up and Replaced with New Sidewalks!

Why are they tearing up perfectly good sidewalks?

Replacing good sidewalk with new sidewalks; no wonder we are broke.

Nashville has allocated $60 million for sidewalks. Only 3.5 miles of new sidewalks!!

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Top Stories

The Beacon Center's 12 days of pork, #6: Freezing out the taxpayers. Shelby County's freeze on new hires only lasts one month.

The Beacon Center - In a year when thousands of Tennesseans have lost their job and many more are scared of their economic situation, it’s comforting to know that at least one local government was willing to make sacrifices as well. Well, sort of. 

After the Shelby County Mayor’s Office put out a report highlighting the dire financial situation the county was in, county commissioners agreed to a freeze on new hires and promotions. Not actual cuts, but hey, at least it’s something? Except all it took was one month for county commissioners to go back on that plan, lifting the freeze. 

This is the problem with government finances. When times are tough, families have to dig deep and make tough decisions. But for governments, tough times are merely an inconvenience. Governments at all levels are able to kick the can down the road (like the federal government) or ask struggling taxpayers to bail them out (like Nashville). Our leaders need to remember that they are charged to be stewards of taxpayer money, not treat it like monopoly money. 

Solution: Shelby County should cut unessential services and enact a spending cap tied to economic growth to curb excessive government growth. 

 on the sixth day of Christmas, the government gave to me… more money for government employees

Top Stories

Tennessee businessman with son in Congress gets $500k in COVID-19 loans to support one job

Tennessee businessman with son in Congress gets $500k in COVID-19 loans to support one job

Top Stories

The Beacon Center's 12 days of pork, #5: Bluff City Flaw. A $1.4 million subsidy for a show cancelled after one season.

The Beacon Center - A few years ago, when Memphis and the state handed millions of tax dollars to the upcoming show “Bluff City Law,” we told them what would happen. 

Film incentives are a worse investment than an Eiffel 65 reunion tour, and somehow governments across the country keep giving our hard-earned tax dollars to these ventures. Even government studies, which always tend to exaggerate or flat-out make up numbers to show the “benefit” of corporate welfare deals, show that these are a bad investment for taxpayers. 

Add in the fact that “Bluff City Law” was about the three millionth courtroom drama, and you have a recipe for disaster. Predictably, the show was canceled after just a single season, yet Memphis taxpayers are still on the hook for $1.4 million in 2020, despite the final episode airing in November of 2019. 

Because of the incompetence of the Memphis EDGE board, Memphis taxpayers are left holding the bag while politicians try to explain away the bad decision and talk about all the “unseen benefits” that the short-lived show created for the city. Film incentives are always problematic and should be eliminated entirely. 

Solution: Stop giving out film incentives of any kind. 

on the fifth day of Christmas, the government gave to me… another canceled show on TV

Top Stories