Banking crisis and convention center interface: a link many voters probably make

Infrequently mentioned in the convention center debate is the prospect of Metro government throwing public money after private enterprise in the context of popular anger at special treatment the wealthy got in the wake of the banking scandal. Genma Holmes gets it:

I want oversight, transparency, and no fuzzy math. The financing sounds iffy in a down economy to me. Watching how our federal government threw away taxpayer dollars to bail out the banks has me leary. The banks continued with their business as usual attitude and actions which makes me think long and hard of any government entity which says "we will work the details out later but we need this right now or else".

This process has been most disconcerting in that the Mayor and council have rammed the plan through. People are alarmed about it even though few elected leaders and government bureaucrats heed calls for caution. Tuesday night's council meeting is a you-break-it-Nashvillians-bought-it moment for Metro Council. At this point we pray against the odds they'll do the right thing.