mushinnoshin

Commenter njmccune nails it on the fairgrounds controversy:

If this place had been maintained properly and attention had been paid to landscaping and maintenance it would be a local icon and would continue to operate.

If it was making lots of money and still looked as bad as it does it would be a local icon and would continue to operate.

But it is neither… it is simply a hodge-podge collection of dilapidated buildings on un-maintained property that is at the heart of the blight in South Nashville. It looks like an old shuttered industrial complex badly in need of demolition.

Nostalgia aside… it is time for this property to become a symbol of the resurgence of South Nashville.

And in the category of Most Ludicrous Argument Ever, oh how I wish I had a link, but the current chair of the Davidson County Libertarian Party argues that we have to keep the fairgrounds open because otherwise property taxes in the area might go up. Think about that for a second. Why might property taxes go up? There’s one and only one reason — because property values might go up.

So, apparently Libertarians today believe that government should maintain ownership of rundown property in order to operate a revenue losing business on said property, because otherwise the neighboring property owners might see their property values increase, and that would be a bad thing. Yay for government intervention to make sure we keep our slums intact! Now that’s good laissez-faire capitalism!

Between that and the frothing comments you see on most articles on the subject, what’s clear is that when conservatives are presented a dilemma whereby their self-proclaimed belief in small government and fiscal responsibility conflict with their underlying and deeply psychological fear of change, you can guess which one wins.

Now, all that said, I’m not super keen on having the property sold off to HCA or other private developers. The land is a public resource, and it would be ideal if the site could be re-purposed in a way that benefits all Nashvillians while becoming a vibrant part of a revitalized South Nashville. BUT, we have to work within the parameters available, and when we can’t even get Metro to upkeep the islands in our central intersection (great thanks are due to the neighborhood volunteers doing what they can on their own to keep them looking presentable), hoping for something like a Centennial Park South is probably a pipe dream. But perhaps if some of the land can be sold in order to finance a Brown’s Creek Park project, or perhaps better yet sold on condition of the owners taking on the maintenance of such a park…