August 8, 2006

Ben's There, Done That

No political blogging this week from me, just photos from the beach, but I gotta give a digital high-five to my guest blogger Ben Cunningham, who has lead a successful petition drive that will put a charter change on the ballot this fall for voters in Nashville. The Tuesday Tennessean has the details. If voters approve the charter change, they'll have voted themselves the right to vote on all future property tax increases. ACK has the blog linky linky. Be sure to read the comments, too, to learn why Nathan's right and ACK is wrong.

Wednesday Update: The Tennessean has gone into attack mode on the Metro Charter change proposed by Cunningham's Tennessee Tax Revolt organization, specifically targeting Cunningham's statistical data showing a big out-migration of Nashvillians to lower-taxed suburbs. The paper has two stories on that in the Wednesday paper, here and a sidebar here.

I don't know about Cunningham's numbers. I do personally know some people who have moved out of Nashville for lower taxes in the 'burbs, but I also know some that moved for better schools, bigger yards, or other reasons. But what I DO know is this: If The Tennessean and the opponents of the charter change are focusing their fire on Cunningham's migration-based argument and battling it with an academic argument about statistics, the charter change is going to win. Because there ARE people who left Nashville to escape its soaring property taxes and comparatively lousy schools, and they KNOW why they left no matter what the academics and experts say, and the quality or inaccuracy of Cunningham's statistics and statistical interpretation doesn't really matter because the proposed charter change isn't about that anyway.

The proposed charter change would give voters in Nashville the right to vote on all future property tax increases. Its wisdom as public policy has nothing to do with the actual numbers and cause of in- and out-migration in Nashville. If passed, the proposed charter change will neither cut taxes nor raise them, but merely give the people of Nashville more say in future tax-increase decisions.

By attacking Cunningham's migration argument the paper is merely reminding readers of two central truths on which the charter change vote will hinge: 1. Nashville's property taxes have soared, which many residents don't like. 2. Residents now have the opportunity to vote to give themselves more control over property tax increases.

That's two ingredients for a popular charter change amendment.

I'm predicting a surge in voter registration in Nashville in the weeks ahead.

Wednesday Update #2: The Wednesday Nashville City Paper story focuses on the constitutionality of the proposed charter change. I would hate to be a member of the Metro Council or be the mayor and be going to court to overturn a charter change approved by the people of the city that gives the people the right to control property tax increases.

Okay, then. Back to my regularly scheduled vacation...