Liberty on the Rocks meets Oct 15th

 

by Rod Williams, Oct. 11, 2024- Join me this coming Tuesday Oct 15 for Liberty on the Rocks. This is just a group of people sitting around drinking beer and talking about politics or culture or sometimes other topics. There is no speaker and no agenda. Recently about ten or so people have been in attendance. It is not always the same people but always some of the same.  People who attend this group are almost always well-read and well-mannered and can engage in civil discourse and can disagree without being disagreeable. Most of the group tend to be libertarian, but not exclusively. Anyone who support the concepts of individual rights and free markets would feel comfortable attending. 

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Happy Columbus Day!

Columbus was Awesome 

Let's be honest, few would do what he did. 

Oh, and the indigenous peoples were guilty of the same stuff. 

by David Foley, reposted from Intellectual Takeout, Oct. 2022 - Yes, it’s in vogue to forsake our Western heritage, to see dead, white men as evil barbarians. But let’s be honest, the reason they’ve been celebrated is because what they did, despite their sins, was incredible. Columbus is certainly one of those men. 

In an age when many teenage Americans are too terrified to even state their opinion in a high school class for fear of getting a bad grade and not getting into college, Columbus was already sailing the ocean blue, with reports that he went as far as the coast of Guinea in West Africa – that’s several thousand nautical miles from his home port! 

Dirt poor and already denied twice, Columbus finally won over Queen Isabella of Spain who then infuenced her husband, King Ferdinand, to support the expedition across the Atlantic. And so it was on August 3, 1492, that Admiral Columbus set sail into the great unknown with a squadron of tiny ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. 

Now, put yourself into the expedition. In looking back, modern man seems tempted to harshly judge every sin of a man whom the current culture has chosen to be against, while failing to judge the whole man and what he accomplished. How many today would have the courage of not just Columbus, but of the other 120 men aboard those little ships (at most, 60 feet long) to sail into the unknown, likely to fail and even to die? 

Here’s the famous poem (forgotten by today’s educators) by Joaquin Miller that captures what it must have been like on that long voyage across the Atlantic: 

Columbus 

by Joaquin Miller 

Behind him lay the gray Azores, 

Behind the Gates of Hercules; 

Before him not the ghost of shores, 

Before him only shoreless seas.

The good mate said: “Now must we pray, 

For lo! The very stars are gone. 

Brave Adm’r’l, speak, what shall I say?” 

“Why, say: ‘Sail on! Sail on! And on!’” 

“My men grow mutinous day by day; 

My men grow ghastly wan and weak.” 

Be stout mate thought of home; a spray 

Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek. 

“What shall I say, brave Adm’r’l, say, 

If we sight naught but seas at dawn?” 

“Why, you shall say, at break of day: 

‘Sail on! Sail on! Sail on! And on!’” 

They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow, 

Until at last the blanched mate said: 

“Why, now not even God would know 

Should I and all my men fall dead. 

These very winds forget their way, 

For God from these dread seas is gone. 

Now speak, brave Adm’r’l; speak and say” 

He said: “Sail on! Sail on! And on!” 

They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate: 

“This mad sea shows his teeth to-night; 

He curls his lips, he lies in wait, 

With lifted teeth, as if to bite: 

Brave Adm’r’l, say but one good word; 

What shall we do when hope is gone?” 

The words leapt like a leaping sword: 

“Sail on! Sail on! Sail on! And on!” 

Then pale and worn, he kept his deck, 

And peered through darkness. Ah, that night 

Of all dark nights! And then a speck-

A light! A Light! A light! A light! 

It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! 

It grew to be Time’s burst of dawn. 

He gained a world; he gave that world

Its grandest lesson: “On! Sail on!” 

And so it was on October 12 that Columbus and his men landed in what is now called the West Indies. Such a story should be remembered and celebrated. 

As for Columbus and the native populations, the story is mixed. It would appear from the historical record that Columbus was quite kind and protective of the Arawak tribe at the location of his first landing. On his second voyage, he came in contact with the Carib tribe, which had been attacking and plundering the Arawak tribe, driving it into isolation and stealing its women and children, as well as initiating acts of cannibalism. Columbus saw the Caribs as natural enemies. But it was the Arawaks and other tribes that massacred his men that he left behind. After that, the violence kicked up and there were certainly terrible abuses by both the native populations and the Europeans.

Without a doubt, Columbus did some horrible things, including sending natives back to Spain as slaves who ironically were not treated as such initially. Should he be celebrated for some of his later deeds? Probably not. And so the complexities of history and the imperfections of men reveal themselves to us. But that is also the case of the native populations. 

Today, any number of classrooms and cities celebrate “Indigenous People’s Day” or some such thing as a way to repent of Columbus’ and the West’s sins of conquest. And yet, when we look at the historical record of indigenous peoples, they were no less blood thirsty (often more so) than the Europeans. Indeed, they conquered and enslaved each other with great frequency. 

If it is the case that the Europeans and Columbus are to be reviled for conquering and enslaving, then should we not hold the indigenous peoples to the same standard? If it was fair for them to conquer each other, then what was wrong with the Europeans conquering and spreading their civilization? Since the Europeans and the indigenous peoples shared in their sins against their fellow men, on this day feel no guilt in celebrating Columbus and his intrepid voyage across the Atlantic. He wasn’t perfect, but he was a giant among men.

Devin Foley is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Charlemagne Institute, which operates Intellectual Takeout, Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture, and the Alcuin Internship.

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Sense And Nonsense About Taxes

by Rod Williams, Oct. 13, 2024- Liberals will never think the rich pay their fair share until they tax them out of existence and then will all be poorer. Transferring money from the rich to the federal government harms the economy. It is not as if the rich have the money stuffed in their mattresses. It is invested and builds houses and businesses and makes loans available making it possible for people who cannot pay cash to buy a home among other things, and it makes the economy grow. Economic growth lifts people out of poverty. 

The following article by John C. Goodman explains away some lies and myths about taxation. Goodman is an award-winning economist, author of seventeen books and a senior fellow at the Independent Institute. 

I have excerpted some major points of the article. To read the whole article, follow the link. The highlighting in the below excerpts is mine. 

Sense And Nonsense About Taxes

by John C. Goodman, Forbes, Oct 9, 2024- As we draw closer to the November elections, there is an inordinate amount of attention being paid to “disinformation,” and a great deal of fact-checking of candidates’ statements. So this seems to be an ideal time to fact-check some statements being made about “taxes.”

Who benefits from income tax cuts?

Consider these two statements

Most of the benefits of the 2017 (Trump) tax cuts went to the rich.

The tax code today is just as progressive (if not more so) than it was before the tax cuts went into effect.

Surprisingly, both these statements are true. The first statement is true but misleading. The second statement is simply true.

What is rarely said in policy debates is that for the most part, half the population isn’t paying income taxes at all. According to the Tax Foundation, the top one-half of taxpayers are paying 97.7% of all income taxes, while the bottom half pays a paltry 2.3%. So, it’s hard to think of a tax cut that wouldn’t confer most of the benefits on the top half of the income distribution.

Progressivity is a different matter. Suppose we cut everyone’s taxes by 1%. For someone with a million dollars in income, that would be $10,000. For a $30,000-a-year worker, that would be $300. That’s a big difference in raw numbers. But from an equality standpoint, everyone’s share of the country’s after-tax income would be the same both before and after the tax cut.

Do the rich pay their fair share?

When Joe Biden says “the rich aren’t paying their fair share,” what is he talking about? ... If we define the rich broadly (to refer to the upper half), their share is already approaching 100% and that is as high as it can go. But even if we are talking about the really rich, their share is quite high. 

The top 1% (people who earned more than $682,577 in 2021) paid 45% of all income taxes collected that year. The top 10% (earning more than $169,800) paid three-fourths of all income taxes.

This reflects the fact that the United States has the most progressive tax system in the world. We tax the rich proportionally more than any other country.

Why is our income tax system so progressive?

... Republicans are the main reason. Going all the way back to Ronald Reagan, every Republican tax bill threw more and more people off the income tax rolls. ... Republicans have been shifting the tax burden to the rich every time they have legislated on taxes, according to a study by the National Center for Policy Analysis.

What about corporate taxes?

... The Tax Policy Center (TPC) estimates that 20% of the corporate income tax is paid by labor in the form of lower wages and 80% is paid by capital (lower dividends and interest payments, for example). ... workers are also shareholders through their pension plans, 401(k) plans and IRA accounts. ... workers bear part of that burden as well.

Taxing capital gains

... gain does not reflect any increase in income .... It merely reflects a change in the market’s expectations. ...Taxing unrealized capital gains is ... like taxing the gambler —not at the end an evening of gaming, but after each time a roll of the dice produces a win, while ignoring each time there is a loss.

What is wrong with taxing investment to pay for consumption?

... almost all progressive ideas for new revenue involve confiscating funds that are now in the capital market and using those funds to pay for current consumption. But less investment means slower economic growth. And that means our children and grandchildren will have a lower standard of living. (read it all)

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Council Member Bob Nash Explains Why He Supports the Mayor's Transit Plan

From Dist. 27 Council Member Bob Nash, Sept 30th Newsletter -

The Metropolitan Council voted unanimously to put Mayor O’Connell’s transportation plan on the November ballot. I did so because I believed, and still do, that improving our transportation infrastructure is a very important issue funded by an increase in the sales tax. District 27 voters deserve to have a voice. As I have seen the Choose How You Move referendum discussed on Facebook and Nextdoor, many are focusing solely on the issue of bus transportation. This transportation plan is multi-faceted. It has a lot of moving parts. (pun intended) I hope as you decide how you will vote you will also take into consideration all the other parts of this plan. To help you do a deeper dive, I share the following from the Mayor’s press release of April 19th,2024:

From The Mayor’s Office

Sidewalks

Choose How You Move will add 86 linear miles of sidewalk, which is about the same distance as Nashville is from Cookeville. One out of every three Nashville residents will have direct, walkable access to a transit stop. We’ll have a 50 percent increase in walkable neighborhoods. This is how we supercharge Nashville’s entire priority sidewalk network.

Signals

The transportation improvement plan will deliver smarter traffic signals that use technology to manage traffic flows and communicate wirelessly with our transit vehicles to keep them evenly spaced and moving quickly. There will be 592 new or upgraded traffic signals concentrated in some of our highest traffic areas. The signals tie into a new Traffic Management Center opening later this year. At that center, NDOT can see where traffic is heaviest and adjust our system in real-time to keep Nashvillians moving.  

Service

Nashvillians will benefit from the Choose How You Move plan, whether we take the bus or not. But we’re going to make riding the bus easy, reliable, safe, frequent, and an all-hours option – a good fit for a 24/7 workforce.  

This initiative will establish 54 miles of high-capacity All-Access Corridors, where the entire route is designed to move people faster and safer with transit vehicles arriving every 15 minutes for better round-the-clock service. These All-Access Corridors include 10 of Nashville’s most heavily used roadways, and they carry 80% of Nashville’s transit ridership (such as Murfreesboro Pike, Gallatin Pike, Nolensville Pike, Dickerson Road, West End, Charlotte Pike, Bordeaux/Clarksville Pike and more). They’ll have dedicated transit-only lanes in strategic locations. Nashvillians will be able to travel the length of Murfreesboro Pike 12 minutes faster than you can today.

Choose How You Move aims to build 12 modern transit centers at key locations in the city, so that riders can travel from neighborhood to neighborhood without having to go downtown.  

The plan calls for building 17 Park & Ride facilities located near high-capacity transit routes, so that more Nashvillians (My addition: and those of surrounding communities that add to the congestion on our main roads) can access transit even if they don’t live near a bus route.  

Choose How You Move is going to double the hours of our high-frequency daily service and increase total bus service by almost80%. That includes more express service and regional service while also expanding WeGo Star service and the WeGo Access program to 24/7 availability. The plan offers extended service hours for the local routes serving Nashville’s prime entertainment district and expands WeGo Link for curb-to-curb service.

If the referendum is approved by voters, low-income residents of Davidson County will qualify for fully subsidized transit passes. A Nashville couple earning $48,000 a year could qualify for unlimited rides on the WeGo Public Transit system.

About two-thirds of the new transit centers and bus stop improvements will be in historically underrepresented communities. This is how we bring the cost of living down for our residents and meet the needs of our 24/7 workforce.  

Safety

Choose How You Move upgrades 285 bus stops to improve lighting, weather cover, and real-time location tracking. Twenty-five intersections will be redesigned as Vision Zero intersections to reduce the risk of injury, a major improvement as 59 percent of Nashville’s fatal and serious injuries occur on six percent of the city’s roads. Thirty-nine miles of Complete Street projects along our high-injury network will make Nashvillians safer, and there will be 35 miles of new or upgraded bicycle facilities.

The program makes safety improvements on 78 miles of the Vision Zero High Injury Network, places where a high number of traffic deaths and serious injuries are occurring, creating safer streets for pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, and transit users alike.  

Funding

In Tennessee, the IMPROVE Act allows local governments to levy a surcharge to generate new revenue specifically for public transportation. A sales tax surcharge of a half penny would make Davidson County’s sales tax rate equal to almost all of our neighboring counties. Nashville would be one of the last of its neighboring counties to choose to increase its local sales tax from 2.25% to the most common effective rate of 2.75%.

For every $50 you spend, you’ll see an extra 25 cents in sales tax on your receipt. For most Nashvillians, the cost will be at or under $70 per year. For comparison, the cost of owning a car is more than $1,000 per month for new vehicles according to AAA. That includes loan interest, depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance, and fees.

Nashville is one of only four cities in the top 50 U.S. Metros that does not have dedicated funding for transportation. Sales tax is the single most common local funding source used for public transportation nationally. Most of the top 50 cities (85%) use some form of dedicated sales tax to fund local transit.

The sales tax surcharge presents an opportunity to share the cost of transportation improvements between people who live here and those who don’t. Nashville is unique because about 60% of our sales tax is paid by people who live somewhere else. That means visitors to the city will pickup the biggest share of the costs of this new transportation improvement program.

On the federal level, Nashville has a finite and unprecedented opportunity to bring more federal tax dollars back to Music City if we act now. Dedicated funding would provide the matching funds needed to leverage over $1.4 billion in future federal dollars to invest in transportation and improve access over the next 15 years.

The financial elements of the plan are undergoing a third-party audit and will be reviewed by the Tennessee Comptroller and are subject to change.  (Added note: The Tennessee Comptroller’s audit approved Choose How You Move plan as submitted.)

Timeline

If the sales tax surcharge is approved by voters on November5, 2024, revenue collections could begin on February 1, 2025. The sales tax surcharge would end when all outstanding debt has been repaid.  

The program has been designed so residents see improvements starting right away. Early projects include a WeGo Link microtransit pilot program, WeGo service enhancements, safety and lighting improvements, initial sidewalk improvements, and the introduction of traffic and signal improvements.

Within two years residents will see substantial bus service improvements such as expanded hours and frequency, continued sidewalk and signal installations, and the development of the first Complete Street project.

Within five years: More than 150 signals upgraded and modernized, along with upgrades to the Traffic Management Center to support these changes, and the first All-Access Corridors will begin high frequency service on West End, Charlotte Pike, and in downtown between Elizabeth Duff Transit Center and SoBro via James Robertson Pkwy, Rosa L Parks Blvd, and Lafayette St.

Within 10 years: 60 miles of new and upgraded sidewalks will be built, above and beyond NDOT’s regular sidewalk program; more All-Access Corridors will begin high frequency service including Murfreesboro Pike, Gallatin Pike and Clarksville Pike, in downtown on James Robertson Parkway from Elizabeth Duff Transit Center to the East Bank, and service to the East Bank from SoBro via the Gateway Bridge.

At 15 years: Metro will have upgraded nearly all 600 traffic signals, will have secured 78 miles of the Vision Zero high-injury network with safety improvements, will have completed all 86 miles of new sidewalk, and will have implemented high-capacity transit on 10 of Nashville’s busiest corridors with Dickerson Pike and Nolensville Pike improvements coming online.”

How Will I Vote

Let me start off by saying that I have never ridden on a Nashville bus. (My wife did for a short time in the late 70’s when we were newly married and only had one vehicle.) We do not live on a transit route, but we do drive downtown occasionally. The new transportation plan provides for nearly 600 synchronized, smart traffic signals. This will reduce much of our stop and go traffic and lower fuel costs that can help offset the sales tax increase. For non-bus ridership, there will be some 17 Park and Ride locations that will offer commuters alternatives to driving downtown thereby decreasing traffic on our main corridors for those who choose to drive.

For these reasons, although I am not a bus rider, I will be voting for the plan. With the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area growing as fast as it is, I believe we must look to the future and start making improvements in our transportation infrastructure and how we get around.

Also, and maybe most importantly, I do represent a number of lower income constituents that do need to use public transportation to get to work, doctor’s appointments, shopping and other life needs. They deserve enhanced bus stops and transit centers that improve the efficiency of our transit system and protect riders from inclement weather.

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