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The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread


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Although it does not make sense for it to affect the transit plan, with all the PAC money involved to stop it I unfortunately think it will. Look for arguments along the lines of "if she is not trustworthy in her own marriage, how can we trust her to be honest about this transit plan" or "if she's using public dollars to fund her affair how do we know that she is not wasting money in this 'unnecessary folly.'" 

This does not necessarily mean the plan will be voted down, but it certainly does not help the campaign to approve it. 

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2 hours ago, PaulChinetti said:

With the Koch brothers getting involved, what is their end goal? Just not mass transit for anyone? I'm confused as to what they hope to gain by getting involved in this, anyone have some insight?

The transit plan includes $1.5 billion in funding from the Federal Transit Administration's Capital Investment Grant Program. It was the same story for the Amp, in which the Koch brothers also got involved, which involved $75 million in FTA funding.

If you're going to secure federal funding for projects, then you have to expect that people under the umbrella of the federal government (i.e., the entire country) will want to have a say in the project. The Koch brothers pay taxes just like everyone else.

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17 minutes ago, AronG said:

This is just Davidson county.

Tough to argue that's their real reason when they don't lobby against the police, fire, building codes, etc.

I don’t follow that their quest for less taxes and government regulation would mean less police and fire and building codes. There are necessary things for any society, and then there is government over-expenditure and over-involvement. It’s not a zero-sum game like it’s made out, wanting less taxes and government is not the same as wanting a government or policing free society. 

11 minutes ago, Dale said:

Well, if just Davidson County, I'd expect her supporters to rally around her.

It depends because Nashville mayoral elections are non-partisan. Democrats always win, of course, but typically the top candidates all have generally the same ideas about housing and transit. It’s going to be tough for her because there will be several other liberal Democrat candidates that don’t have the stain of an in-office adulterous affair on their resume. I personally think if this transit referendum fails her political career is over. I also think that if she views transit as importantly as she says she does, she should resign so that her personal life doesn’t become a bigger issue than the referendum. She needs to let someone else carry this over the goal line. 

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3 hours ago, AronG said:

Tough to argue that's their real reason when they don't lobby against the police, fire, building codes, etc.

Exactly. It's because that's NOT their reasoning, but I love how they disguise it as supporting the greater good! HA

3 hours ago, fishsticks176 said:

Self-interest. The Koch Brothers are fossil fuel magnates. They fund groups across the county who oppose pretty much any form of mass transit in any city so as to keep people reliant on cars and gasoline. They also fund groups that deny climate change. 

This is the cold-hard truth. 

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Outside influences aside, we are all responsible for the transportation and logistical decisions we make. Daily car commuting, even in a place like Nashville, is optional for most people.  The people stuck in traffic on 24, 65, 40, and 440  every day are there because they made a series of choices that led them there. No one entity or factor is forcing them to be there.

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10 hours ago, titanhog said:

Maybe you guys can bring in good ol' George Soros to fight the Koch Bros? <_<

 

Just out of curiosity because I see his name thrown around so much, I looked up how much George Soros spends on political contributions relative to the Koch brothers.   

Turns out Soros donated about 3% as much during the last election cycle as the Kock Brothers did.  Less than 3% actually.  Looks like Soros's peak contribution was about 27 million spent during the Bush/Kerry election of 2004, while the Koch brothers have been spending over 900 million over per election the last few presidential cycles at least.  

Can you believe that?  All this time I thought he was the like the Democratic equivalent to the Republican mega donors, but it turns out it's not even close! Of course, this also doesn't take into account that Soros is advocating for candidates and many causes that will hurt his financial bottom line, while the Kochs on the other hand can see a return on their political investments through tax breaks and regulatory windfalls. 

I guess they're really not even comparable after all. 

 

 

 

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We are starting to wear out the Soros versus Koch Brothers meme and probably need to focus more on the physical aspects of the proposal, please. This is a wonderful forum for getting information on Nashville development and I and others don't want it to be a discussion on people's political views. It will, and is indeed starting to, get into personal criticism.

There are other websites you can go to for political discussion. Let's keep this one on track (pun intended).

 

 

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52 minutes ago, Will said:

Sure, no one would be expected to use a transportation method that increases commute time by ~8x, but you chose to make your home many miles from where you need to be during working hours most days of the week. That's a big decision, and it necessarily colors many other transportation decisions downstream that affect you and many other people. Point is that we are all adults here, not victims of Soros or the Kochs or Exxon or GM or the Nashville MTA, etc. etc. 

Well, of course I wasn't going to pay twice as much, on my home solely to take one for the team.

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1 hour ago, Will said:

Sure, no one would be expected to use a transportation method that increases commute time by ~8x, but you chose to make your home many miles from where you need to be during working hours most days of the week. That's a big decision, and it necessarily colors many other transportation decisions downstream that affect you and many other people. Point is that we are all adults here, not victims of Soros or the Kochs or Exxon or GM or the Nashville MTA, etc. etc. 

Some people choose homes based on price, proximity to good schools, amount of crime... etc. To some, those are a more pressing factor than a daily commute. You think I could afford a home in Green Hills in order to walk to work? No. Point is that people like Koch and Beaman have one motive when it comes to Nashville's transit, and it doesn't concern citizens' welfare.

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