Get A Purpose of Go Home
Occupy Nashville had better come up with a
good reason for being at the Plaza:
Protestors reacted by using power supplied by a battery powered
generator for the day, and Occupy Nashville says they are going to pay
to have the outlet in question rewired so that the wiring is not exposed
any longer. That is well and fine, of course, but at this point it is
fair to ask: What purpose is Occupy Nashville serving by remaining on
the Plaza? Readers will recall that we have consistently supported the
right of the protesters to be on the Plaza, but we have also said that
they need to develop a purpose and a strategy or end their sit-in. The sit-in is now posing a risk to the health and safety of the very people who came to participate in it, and whose rights we have consistently defended in this space (despite the reality that this writer does not agree with the apparent politics of the Occupiers).
Labels: Local politics, News Media, Tennessee politics
We Don't Deliver For You
In order to survive, the Post Office must have a
business model that is relevant:
Everyone knows that the real problem for the Post Office is the reality
that the institution-one of the few government offices whose creation
was authorized in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 7)
has failed to adapt to the realities of the 21st Century. From colonial
times right up to the late 1990's, the majority of long-distance
communication in America was done by means of letters sent in the post.
Not only has the widespread availability of internet access allowed
people to send letters via e-mail, but long distance communication has
become cheaper and easier in general. Most wireless telephone providers
offer free long distance, and to compete, many land-line phone carriers
offer unlimited long distance plans. You don't even have to have
internet access at home to send an e-mail-You can do that from your
local library for nothing.
Labels: Conservatism, Federal politics, Local politics, News Media, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
Ring That Bell
Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey has chosen a conservative stalwart with a strong work ethic to lead the
Senate Government Operations Committee:
Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey has announced that State
Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville) will replace Senator Bo Watson
(R-Hixson) as Chairman of the Senate Government Operations Committee.
Watson has been elevated to the position of Speaker Pro Tempore of the
Senate, replacing former Senator Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville) who
resigned her Senate seat this last summer. Bell is a committed fiscal
and social conservative with the voting record to prove it.
Labels: Conservatism, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Moving Ahead With It
Speaker Beth Harwell and Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey are pressing ahead with plans to
reduce or eliminate the death tax and the Hall Income Tax:
Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) and Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) both say that they are going to press ahead
with respective House and Senate plans to cut and/or eliminate the
death tax and the Hall income tax on dividends. Speaker Harwell told the
Associated Press's Erik Schelzig that " House Republicans have wanted
to address this issue [the inheritance tax] for a long time." Indeed,
many House Republicans campaigned and were elected throughout Tennessee
on platforms that included abolishing the death tax, and Republicans in
both Houses of the General Assembly have the numbers to do it is they
but stand together. As with any other Governor in Tennessee, a Haslam
veto is a worthless one if a simple majority in both Houses chooses to
override it.
Labels: Conservatism, Economy, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
If Not Now, When?
If Tennessee taxes will not be cut now,
when will they be cut?:
Despite Haslam's admission that these taxes do not represent long-term
good or a pro-growth economic policy for Tennessee, the Governor claims
that we can't afford to cut or eliminate them, or for that matter to
abolish Tennessee's tax on groceries, which hurts the poorest citizens
of our State. Haslam says we are still in an economic pinch and need to
conserve every penny, and if these taxes were reduced or eliminated,
that neither he nor the General Assembly has a strategy to replace the
lost revenue that would result. Perhaps the Governor and the General
Assembly need to come up with such a strategy so that these taxes can be cut for the benefit of all Tennesseans. Governments always come up with some excuse why they can't really
cut taxes or reduce their size, and at some point when economic times
are a bit better, it still isn't likely that either Haslam or a future
Governor of either party will be beating the doors to the House and
Senate Chambers down to demand passage of a major tax reduction. As is
currently the case, a group of legislators will have to take the
initiative, and we will again hear excuses from all quarters about why
it can't be done or shouldn't be done now.
Labels: Conservatism, Economy, Elections, Local politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
