Georgia should increase support for education and workforce development and reverse its recent course of cutting spending for services vital to the state’s economic health.
I pressed that point during my remarks at our annual policy conference last Friday, as 180 business leaders, educators and policymakers got together… [Read more]

Georgia’s Economic Recovery Requires State Support for Education, Transportation, Health Care
The Overview of Georgia’s 2014 Fiscal Year Budget report examines the Governor’s fiscal year 2014 budget  and its impact on the public resources that matter most to Georgians.  The governor’s budget recommendation for the 2014 fiscal year that starts… [Read more]

Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year continues an unfortunate path Georgia has been on since the start of the recession in 2008.
Its emphasis on more cuts to vital services threatens Georgia’s ability to create jobs and build a strong economy. If this budget goes into… [Read more]

Georgia’s December revenue report, out this week, is both good news and bad.
The good news is that revenue grew by almost 10 percent in December. The bad news is that’s not enough to avoid more damaging budget cuts, unless lawmakers commit to finding enough revenue to meet Georgia’s pressing… [Read more]

The Saporta Report features Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s Executive Director Alan Essig’s op-ed on cuts-only approach in Georgia.
As published in the Saporta Report
You’ve heard the old joke. The Georgia Legislature is back in Atlanta, so you better hang on to your wallet. But overspending by state… [Read more]

GBPI Executive Director Alan Essig’s op-ed on the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” is featured in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; read full article here.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution features Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s Executive Director Alan Essig’s op-ed on the no-tax pledge in Georgia.
As published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If any good has come from the nation being perched on a “fiscal cliff,” it is the light being shed on a crippling… [Read more]

The countdown has begun: Now that the election is over comes news that what had been one of the staunchest anti-health reform governors in the nation – Florida’s Rick Scott – has softened his stance on the implementation of Obamacare in his state.
Back in June, Governor Scott flatly [Read more]

Categories: Blog, Health Care, Timothy Sweeney | Comments (1)

Sluggish revenue growth continues to dog Georgia, threatening more damaging cuts to education, health care, and other vital services unless policymakers accept the reality that a different course of action is possible – and necessary.
Revenue grew by only 3.9 percent in September compared to the same month last year,… [Read more]

Categories: Alan Essig, Blog, State Budget | Comments (3)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution features GBPI Executive Director Alan Essig’s Op-ed on the claim that nearly half of Americans don’t pay taxes.

Posted by Alan Essig

It’s time to put an end to the rumor that nearly half of Americans don’t have any “skin in the game” when it… [Read more]