Schools across Georgia continue to scramble to meet students’ needs as they cope with years of deep cuts in state funding. A new Georgia Budget and Policy Institute survey of school systems finds districts raised class sizes and cut instructional
The widening gap between rich and poor makes it harder for state lawmakers to fully fund education, health care and other vital services, more so in states like Florida and Tennessee that rely mostly on sales taxes. That’s one of
Georgia’s Department of Human Services is asking the state to include $7.8 million in its 2016 budget to put photos on electronic cards used by food stamp recipients. This is an expensive solution to a virtually non-existent problem. Spending millions
About 50,000 uninsured Georgians in the 10-county Coastal Georgia region could get guaranteed health coverage if Georgia accepts new federal money to expand Medicaid eligibility. That is about half the area residents between 18 and 64 without health coverage in
The Schoolhouse Squeeze 2014 compiles the latest numbers to show how cuts at the state level and lost local property values combine to create financial stress for school districts. This year’s update to the original 2013 report features a searchable
State Cuts, Lost Property Values Still Pinch School Districts Georgia’s 180 school districts continue to face enormous financial pressures. The Georgia Legislature cut more than $8.4 billion in funding for public schools in recent years. At the same time, local
Creating marriage equality in Georgia is not just a matter of basic justice and fairness, but according to a just-released study by the Williams Institute in the UCLA School of Law, the state’s economy would also benefit. Revenue from same-sex
Workers Squeezed by Tough Labor Market, Shrinking Paychecks Georgia’s economy has improved markedly since the darkest days of the Great Recession, but workers and their families remain pinched from the lingering fallout. Unemployment remains high, wages are depressed and many
Like many Georgians I grew up in a family hanging on tightly to the middle rungs of the economic ladder. My father drove old cars until they literally fell apart on the road, and my mother clipped coupons religiously from
Georgia’s refusal to expand Medicaid to cover more than 500,000 uninsured people will cost the state’s health care system about $34 billion in federal money over the next decade, according to a new report by two well-respected research organizations. Georgia’s
The Georgia Budget Primer is GBPI’s signature annual examination of state revenues and investments. It outlines Georgia’s budget changes, trends and impacts regarding taxes, education, health care, human services and criminal legal systems. This year we are taking special care to describe how federal funding contributes to Georgia’s budget.
Submit public comment on Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program extension by February 20th – just complete this easily fillable form:
