2013 Spring Policy Forum Recap
Proposed federal budget cuts will hurt real Georgians. That is among the conclusions offered by federal budget expert Joan Huffer, keynote speaker at Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s Spring Policy Forum this week.
The forum, featuring Huffer and a panel of local experts in education and social support services, attracted an audience of more than 80 people to GBPI’s Spring Policy Forum at the Carter Center.
If you missed the forum, or would like to revisit some of the topics covered, the keynote presentation, news coverage and a photo gallery are shared here.
Agenda
Presentations
Joan Huffer, keynote speaker
Director of the Federal Budget Initiative, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Huffer told the forum audience that since 2010 the federal government has done well to reduce the deficit primarily from cuts to federal programs and without sequestration. As financial details of the sequester’s impact on Georgia are slowly being revealed, the indiscriminate five percent cuts across the board to non-defense discretionary funds will cause real pain. Download the presentation.
Additional Resources on Federal Budget Negotiations
The thoughtful questions from the audience at the GBPI Spring Policy Forum made clear people concerned about this country’s future have a real appetite for more information about what’s inside the various pending federal budget proposals. It’s a subject that was too complex to sort out in a wide-ranging, two-hour discussion.
But recent reports can help you cut through some of the rhetoric that tends to cloud understanding of the budget proposals that on the table.
The recent report “State-by-State figures on Obama’s Proposal to Limit Tax Expenditures” takes a close look at how the president’s budget plan works. Prepared by Citizens for Tax Justice, the report analyzes proposed changes to tax rates, deductions and other details contained in the budget plan.
A compilation of analysis of the competing vision of U.S. House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan shows his proposal to dramatically cut federal spending will prove devastating to low-income people and shift costs of social services to local governments. Prepared by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the reports contrast his recommendations with other plans, such as the more even-handed approach recommended recently by Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray.
The Saporta Report Covers Keynote Address, Panel Discussion
Read the full story in The Saporta Report: Federal cutbacks hurt, but Georgia’s safety net can respond creatively
Twitter Feed During the Forum
- Deficit at the federal level caused by recession, low revenues. Tax cuts, war spending add 6 trillion dollars to deficit. #sequester
- Sequestration is indiscriminate, a terrible solution. The only way to get rid of it is through political pressure. #sequester #gapol
- Georgia ranks 34 for willingness to contact elected officials. We cannot let officials off the hook for this mess. #sequester #gapol
- 82% of kids in @ClarkeCoSchools are on free, reduced lunches. You cannot educate hungry, unhealthy kids says Lanoue. #sequester
- Public schools are the core of the community. If your school is not making it, fix it. Do not pick up and move, says Lanoue #edchat
- We have a budget problem, not a crisis. We have options, we need to advocate. We have a role to play as citizens says our Essig. #sequester
Photo Gallery
