Actuary, by proxy.

As I listen to the daily parade of fire trucks, probably CONFIRMED heading to the Bottleneck of Death to assist with the recurring, early-evening, gruesome task of perhaps extricating bodies from a wreck, it reminds me of the grim reality that elected representatives essentially become actuaries, by proxy, and more probable, by choice.

A real actuary is 'college-educated' and analyzes hard data and provides information to a variety of companies - results such as how long you might live and if you're insurable, or, how likely the odds are you might die in an incinerating blaze based on the fire protection measures at your house, or, how likely you are to be crushed like a grub worm in a horrific accident based on your driving record.

Actuaries make big decisions that essentially gamble a company's money against variables that affect your life, security, and of course, your pocketbook.

An actuary by proxy, is perhaps an alderman or State official with no training in data analysis, no comprehension of the immeasurable factors of a person's life, but still makes decisions that also gamble with variables that impact your life, security, and pocketbook.

Big Picture Example: TDOT

As stated above, the best example is The Bottleneck of Death here in Franklin: the 4-lane to 2-lane bottleneck just south of Highway 96 as you head south on I-65.

Here, someone has reviewed the State's and TDOT's budget numbers and has gambled decided that perhaps new signs at the Martha Sundquist National Forest, a new mountain bike trail, or even $20,000,000 for a bunker at the Governor's mansion are worth more than the lives that are taken at The Bottleneck of Death.

That's right. It's easier for the State's Actuary by Proxy to look at a balance sheet and have a person - maybe your father, mother, children - to lose their lives, rather than fix a blatant, obvious, dangerously outstanding problem.

Franklin, for example.

Here in Franklin, people (Aldermen, Planning Commission members, whoever) have reviewed the City's budget and have determined the taxpayers' money is better prioritized (spent) supporting the collection of horse semen, constructing cute planter boxes, buying cutesy light globes for Main Street, and making sure pump-and-haul is in place for back-room developer agreements, rather than, fixing a dangerous intersection and mitigating problems that would prevent you and your child from being in an accident with a speeding concrete truck driver.

That's right. It's easier for an Actuary by Proxy to prioritize their list of pet projects higher than a traffic correction plan that would prevent you and your kids from being torn in half and gutted like a fish by an inattentive concrete truck driver on a cell phone at a dangerous intersection.

Then there are the Esoteric Actuaries - the people that are more worried about how many potato chips were in their bag during a consultant-sponsored planning dinner meeting and simply fail to even ask if a fire truck could get to your burning house along some miniature alley in a Jill-Burgin-classicly-defined-Wild-West-Density-town.

That's right. It's easier to just approve a plan for a fellow developer pal trying to cram in density, rather than, make a decision that might allow a fire truck to reach your house in time to pull your kids out. Esoteric Actuaries unwittingly make poor decisions that disregard smart, long-term decision making and gambles short-term developer gain against a person's life, safety, and welfare.