Author Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Georgia Voters Should Reject Tax Cap Constitutional Amendment October 30, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Next Tuesday, Nov. 4, Georgians will head to the polls to vote in what could be one of the most competitive elections in the state’s modern history. But you may be unaware that the most lasting legacy you can create for the state is how you vote on Constitutional Amendment A, sometimes described as the […] Read more » State Taxes
Author Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Georgians Set to Vote on Income Tax Straitjacket October 23, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe | 1 Comment on Georgians Set to Vote on Income Tax Straitjacket Georgians will vote November 4th whether to permanently enshrine the state’s top income tax rate of 6 percent in the state’s constitution. The so-called “tax-cap” amendment sounds American as apple pie, right? No one looks forward to the day their income tax bill comes due and the prospect of capping the rate will understandably sound […] Read more » State Taxes
Author Blog Claire Suggs Featured K-12 Education New GBPI Survey: Students Still Feel Budget Cuts’ Sting October 16, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Claire Suggs Here is a status report on the state of education in Georgia, from someone who knows: “Delayed instructional initiatives, depleted reserves, increased class sizes, frozen wages, deferred maintenance and negligible bus replacement. It doesn’t take great imagination to envision what could have been done over the last five years with $12.8 million in lost QBE […] Read more » K-12
Blog VIDEO: How GBPI Shows Georgia What’s Possible October 7, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by GBPI Admin At the Capitol, at PTA meetings and at community meetings across the state, GBPI’s experts make the case for better access to education, health care and opportunity for all Georgians. Watch this three-minute video to see how we work to make Georgia a more prosperous place for everyone. Read more »
Author Blog Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice Rising Inequality Makes Tax Shift Strategy Even Riskier September 18, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe 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 the main findings of a new study from Standard & Poor’s, a widely-respected, independent agency. […] Read more »
Author Blog Taifa Smith Butler Taifa Butler: I Work at GBPI to Spotlight What’s Possible September 17, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Taifa Smith Butler This September marks my third anniversary as part of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) team. I’m spending much of the month scrambling to make the organization’s 10th anniversary gala next month a big success. We still have tickets for sale and I hope you’ll join us! Why did I join GBPI three years […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Georgia Set to Squander $7.8 Million on Food Stamps ID September 11, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on Georgia Set to Squander $7.8 Million on Food Stamps ID 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 to create photo ID cards will not prevent large-scale fraud through food stamps, formally known […] Read more »
Author Blog Claire Suggs Featured K-12 Education How Squeezed is Your District? September 8, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Claire Suggs 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 database so you can easily access information about your district, or any of Georgia’s 179 […] Read more » K-12
Alan Essig Author Blog Worker Justice Marriage Equality is Good for Business in Georgia August 29, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Alan Essig 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 wedding planning and spending by out-of-state guests on goods and services will add $78.8 million […] Read more »
Author Blog Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice Georgia Workers Deserve an Economy That Works for Them August 27, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe | 2 Comments on Georgia Workers Deserve an Economy That Works for Them 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 the Sunday paper. My older sister and I slept under a mountain of blankets in […] Read more »
