Progressive Nashville

Big Brother

The federal government's effort to give us all a national ID card has died, at least for the time being. The Real ID Act was supposed to be in force May 11, but all 50 states and the District of Columbia were given extensions to comply. That's despite action on the part of 17 state legislatures to say they won't approve the law, even if the federal government foots the bill.

The bill would require states to issue a common identification for drivers licenses and other forms of identification. The information would then be passed up to the federal government for use by Homeland Security officials.

The idea was opposed not only by the ACLU, but also by state legislators who saw the single database as the perfect target for those practicing identity theft.

Such opposition has pushed the original deadline back to Dec. 31, 2009. But states can request an extension from Homeland Security, to be compliant by 2011. States don't need to issue Real ID's for residents over 50 until 2017-- nine years after the original deadline.

Hopefully this bad idea will die a quiet death like so many fear-induced activities that took place after 9/11.

Now it's time to get to work on dismantling the so-called Patriot Act.

    -- Jim Grinstead

A glass half full

The first step in solving a problem is having the desire to solve it. City leaders apparently have lost the desire to have an affordable mass transit system in the city.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority wants to cut seven routes and boost fares in an effort to save $2.9 million. For a city the size of Nashville, $2.9 million is a modest amount of money, especially considering the impact such cuts and fare increases will have on the population.

Well, I have a solution. It took about 15 minutes, but I was glad to invest the time. With about 482,000 households in Davidson County, according to the 2000 census, it would cost about 50 cents a month each to raise the cash needed to keep the buses running.

But I can do better than that.

The trick is to raise the water rate by 0.0009 cents per cubic foot. That would actually generate about $4.7 million. If the increase was added to industrial and commercial rates, the increase could be much, much less. It makes sense increase all rates because employees use mass transit to get to work. I'd guess it would cost each household and business about 25 cents a month if we all shouldered the responsibility.

And it's cost effective. Using the water system, the money is easy to bill and collect. Very little will be lost to administrative costs.

In doing so, we help deal with climate change by putting fewer vehicles on the road. We help those who need mass transit to get to and from work. We'll probably also save some people from losing their jobs because buses will continue to run at night and the disabled will have access to the transportation they need. That saves money in unemployment wages and other social services.

I understand there are issues dealing with utility rates and transfers of money between the water department and the general fund. But there are smart people who work in Nashville's government and I believe they can come up with a solution.

But first, our leaders have to want to solve the problem.

The point here isn't to say raising water rates is the best idea for saving transit. There could be any number of viable solutions, but we can't let vital services like mass transit, which has a huge impact on people's lives, be cut back because we didn't try to find an answer. Most of us could easily kick in 50 cents a day to solve a problem like this. When it takes less than 50 cents a month, the decision should be a no-brainer.

No one likes tax or fee increases, but sometimes doing something small, like boosting water rates by 0.0009 cents per cubic foot, can make a big difference. We deserve more effort from Metro government to solve problems rather than just declaring defeat.

    -- Jim Grinstead

Note: Figures are based on Census reports of 2.5 persons per household. Water rates are $2.01 per 100 cubic feet for residential customers and generally accepted usage of 90 gallons of water per day per person. There are 7.48 gallons per cubic foot.

Transit watch

Nashville's new transit watchdog blog, NashTransit has been out at public hearings on changes to the MTA and says,

One interesting tidbit that came out during the discussion is that MTA does not get a dime of Tennessee's gasoline tax. I can't speak to how efficiently TDOT uses that tax revenue to maintain and build infrastructure, as is necessary. Still, the state could do more to encourage public transportation, perhaps by listening to the road-builders lobby just a little bit less.

Education first -- well, no so much

Gov. Bredesen's budget speech last night was a disappointment, but it was one to be expected.

One of the greatest disappointments was his decision not to expand the pre-K program. He tried to put a good face on it saying, "every classroom and every teacher we pay for today is again paid for, with inflation, in this budget." That's little comfort to the students who won't get the benefits of pre-K and the school districts who won't see graduation rates increase.

Just moments later, after claiming that Tennessee puts education first, Bredesen cut 4.1 percent from the higher education budget. It's hard to see education as the top priority when promised expansions are canceled and other budgets are cut.

TennCare suffered from the same logic -- no cuts in programs, but expansion plans, which had been approved, have been eliminated.

The cuts are disappointing and it's tragic that those who most need government's help -- the poor, the sick and our children -- have to suffer.

We disagree with Bredesen's choices, but we have to acknowledge that it's a tough year for state government. Difficult decisions had to be made. We just wish the pain was felt more by the well off, who have options, than those who have no where else to turn.

    -- Jim Grinstead

Insane economic policy

John McCain, the man who wants to be president, allowed his environmental policy to escape today saying he won't "shirk the mantle of leadership" on important issues.

We'd be better off if he did.

McCain loves the idea of companies buying pollution indulgences. Under that plan, if Company A doesn't pollute as much as it is allowed to, Company B can buy credits allowing it to pollute more than the law allows. Laws also set the overall limits pollution.

"That's good economic policy," says McCain.

Which is why we should all be scared. McCain believes that our environmental needs should be balanced with business concerns. Such thinking is insanity. Climate change threatens the future of the planet and there should be no compromise on doing what it takes to repair the problem as best we can.

Saving the planet is the best policy -- both economic and environmental. Suggesting that compromise is reasonable shows how little he understands the urgency of the situation.

    -- Jim Grinstead

Economic incentive

We got our economic incentive tax refund from the federal government today.

We're putting it toward a vacation in Cancun.

    -- Jim Grinstead

It's ok to admit you were wrong...

The puffery of Tuesday night's Council meeting has finally been covered by the mainstream press, on the front page of today's City Paper. Long story short: A councilmember, in an what appears to have been an effort to halt the new installation of a home for disabled youth in his district, introduced legislation last year prohibiting rehabilitation homes in particular areas of town. At the time, Metro Legal warned the Council that they were getting in to murky waters if they passed the ordinance- the Fair Housing Act is pretty clear on the illegality of these kinds of prohibitions. The Council moved ahead with it anyway, changing the zoning of a property which had already been zoned for such services and which had been purchased with the intent of providing them.

When your own legal department tells you that an ordinance is likely unconstitutional and you pass it anyway, you really can't be all that surprised when you get sued. You really can't be all that surprised when the Department of Justice comes knocking. What should surprise us is that, in a year when Metro is parched for necessary funds to keep operating even basic services, the Council would be so reckless as to taunt the Department of Justice (and the federal grants monies that are linked to it) and assert local authority to defend its own discriminatory ordinance.

There are certainly times when the federal government oversteps its role, but this is not one of them. The protections of the Fair Housing Act are a part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. the same document that protects individuals from being discriminated against on the basis of their race, color and religion protect individuals from being discriminated against on the basis of a disability. Would the Council have passed an ordinance that prohibited Methodist Churches in agricultural areas? Or one that prohibited Italian American Leagues? Or one that said only white residents could live in Madison? It's the same law and the same protections that prohibit zoning ordinances that treat individuals with disabilities differently from any other resident. It would be egregious to the Council to pass an ordinance that prohibited Catholics from living downtown, but yet 20 Council Members gladly snubbed their collective noses (which is admittedly hard to do with your head in the sand) at the suggestion that the same protection be upheld for individuals with disabilities.

Personally, I continue to be surprised by the pompousness of some of our Council members, although the State of Tennessee apparently expects this kind of behavior. In fact, they've published a very helpful guide describing exactly how these kinds of ordinances are unconstitutional, one I would suggest our councilmembers at least skim.

There is always NIMBY push-back against the siting of rehabilitation homes. I live in a district that's host to more than 50% of all the group homes citywide- I know the arguments. But the weakness in the system is not in allowing group homes to provide essential rehabilitative and life services to the disabled. The weakness is in assuring the supervision and regulation of these homes to guarantee they are not places in which their residents are exploited. Well-run, well-supervised group homes are great neighbors. They're one of the most effective ways to support independent living for individuals with disabilities. They improve not only the lives of their residents, but the communities in which they sit. Poorly run group homes are exploitive, dangerous, and potentially deadly. They can contribute to crime and affect property values. They make their profit at the expense of the lives they are supposed to protect. But neither condition is a result of zoning. Both are a result of effective social service supervision.

If the Council was trying to push back on federal interference, as some have argued, they picked the wrong issue. Our humanity is already being called into question, with services instead of salaries being cut throughout the slashed budget. If you want to make a statement, go swim across the Cumberland. Don't do it at the expense of the constitutional rights of your constituents (and the federal dollars upon which our already threatened social services rely).

Utah blocks nuclear waste, Tennessee working on it

Eight Western states have derailed EnergySolutions' plans to import nuclear cleanup waste from Italy and bury some of it at the company's Utah landfill. Some of that waste is processed in Tennessee. The company would also like to import some of that waste here.

The issue is in the Tennessee Senate where it has died before the Finance, Ways and Means Committee, but only on a 4-3 vote. If approved, it would have asked the federal government to deny the company's request to import 20,000 tons of Italian waste, process it at a plant near Oak Ridge, sell the recovered metal for shielding and dispose of 1,600 tons of waste at the mile-square landfill in Tooele County, about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City.

Clearly leaders in the west know what's at stake. Tennessee's legislators need to add their voices blocking the import of other countries' problems into our state. We should not be the world's trash can.

    -- Jim Grinstead

Foreign invasion

Imagine that instead of crossing another nation's borders in order to drop bombs out of fear, that we forced ourselves into another country to help its citizens.

Such is the possibility raised by the horrific disaster in Myanmar where estimates say tens of thousands of people need food, water and emergency supplies after being ravaged by a cyclone.

But the country's rulers won't let anyone in the door to help.

Imagine if we lived in a country where our leaders were considering invading another country to provide aid. Unfortunately that debate doesn't take place. On this issue, the U.S. government says it must respect another country's right to make its own decisions.

Shawn Crispin makes a good case for the action in today's Asia Times and notes that France, a country often decried by the Bush administration, has floated the idea of such an invasion.

In the end, invading another country, even to help, would be wrong, but wouldn't it be wonderful to live in a country where leaders debate how best to do good rather than how to react to their fears.

    -- Jim Grinstead

McCain says he'll continue Bush tradition

John McCain continues his campaign to become president by pledging to maintain the policies of one of the most unpopular presidents in history. McCain says he's disgusted by the abuse of the courts and plans to appoint the same sort of people to the bench as those favored by President Bush.

That's comforting. Maybe he could take another run at appointing Harriet Miers.

If we want to know who McCain would pick, then we need to know who Bush favors. Those people would be constructionists. Bush in 1999 told reporter Fred Barnes of the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard that he would nominate judges to the court in the mold of originalist Justice Antonin Scalia.

In commenting on his plans for judicial nominations, McCain clarified the issue far better than I could.

McCain said, "Elections have consequences. One of the consequences is the president of the United States gets to name his or her nominees to the bench."

    -- Jim Grinstead