We’ve all seen the plethora of Buzzfeed quizzes out there, offering to reveal our innermost beings through cheesy comparisons to real or imaginary scenarios—“which Friends character are you?”, “which President are you?”, “what type of vegetable are you?”, or “which decade are you from?” and so forth. Inexplicably, many punch through the multiple choice selections eager for the Internet genies to tell them whether they’re Ross or Teddy Roosevelt and should have been born in the 1930s as a daikon radish. Well, today is your day. Let’s play, “Which Tennessee Politician Are You?”— AMPlified Policy Style.
- When concerned about traffic congestion in Metro Nashville, you: a. Propose a $175 million public transit project named AMP, stripping two lanes of traffic during the multi-year construction, and installing 16 new traffic lights. b. Propose the construction of a monorail extending from Murfreesboro to Nashville and ask the state to spend $25,000 to “study” the issue. c. None of the above
- If the AMP project was studied and found to provide the service to just 14 percent more of the population currently commuting, you: a. Press ahead—we’ll get some “free” federal money too! b. Vote “no” on AMP—it’s too expensive and clearly not needed—but give me my monorail! c. None of the above.
- If the monorail was studied and deemed too costly in 2007, and a proposal fails during the latest legislative session, you: a. Shrug. There’s some state dollars to be had and by golly, you’re going to get a crack at them eventually. b. Demand the ‘rail be studied AGAIN. Maybe they just didn’t spend enough reviewing it the first time? c. None of the above.
RESULTS: If you answered (a) or (b) to any of the three questions listed above, you are a… Pork-Barrel Spender You like to think of taxpayer money as your line of credit and let your creative spending juices flow. Fiscal responsibility is not your strong suit. And on policy issues like addressing transportation reforms in Metro Nashville, you’ll most likely fist-bump with Nashville Mayor Karl Dean or State Sen. Bill Ketron. Dean continues to try to keep AMP’s hopes alive, despite being derailed during the legislative session, while Ketron’s efforts have led to Monday’s TDOT decision to spend $25,000 on a consultant to probe the monorail proposal over the summer. Ketron has proven to be a proponent of fiscal responsibility, including his recent “no” vote on the AMP, but when it comes to the monorail, it appears he is willing to go the extra mile (literally) to bring home the pork. If you answered (c) to all of the three questions listed above, you are a… Fiscally Responsible Taxpayer You dislike the use of your hard-earned dollars being spent on projects you don’t need. You’re willing to restrict your monorail rides to Disneyworld or public trams to your visits to Dollywood, if it means saving the $25 million per mile it would take to construct a transport close to home. You like sweet the sound of jingle in your pocket and the freedom of choosing how it’s spent. You, my friend, are the backbone of this state and the ticket to making it prosperous. -Lindsay Boyd Enjoy the Beacon blog? Help us keep it going with a tax-deductible gift.