Author Blog Health Justice Timothy Sweeney Medicaid Expansion Still Georgia’s Best Way to Bridge Coverage Gap May 12, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Timothy Sweeney As published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on May 11, 2014 A quick scan of recent headlines could leave you with the impression two state laws approved this year all but end any conversation about Medicaid expansion in Georgia. Fortunately that isn’t the case, for the sake of more than 500,000 uninsured Georgians, the state’s health […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Up to 700 Georgia Schools Offered New Option to Combat Child Hunger May 8, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on Up to 700 Georgia Schools Offered New Option to Combat Child Hunger About one-third of Georgia schools can now participate in the second year of a new federal program designed to help ensure children have food in their stomachs so they can concentrate on their studies. Known as community eligibility it promises to increase the number of children eating school meals and reduce paperwork starting next fall, […] Read more »
Author Blog Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice New Brief: Slow-Growth Stalls Georgia Economy May 8, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Georgia continues to face serious economic challenges more than four years since the start of the national recovery, despite some gradual movement in the right direction. Companies are adding new jobs and unemployment is declining these days, but relatively modest growth is leaving many workers and families behind. Georgia continues to wrestle with the fallout […] Read more »
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Rising Tuition and Shrinking HOPE Squeeze College Students May 2, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs Georgia is home to the seventh largest tuition increase in the nation between 2008 and 2014, according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Average tuition at four-year public colleges and universities in the state increased by $3,125 in inflation-adjusted dollars, the report says. Big cuts in state funding are […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Time Running Short to Sponsor Summer Food Program for Children May 2, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson Next week in College Park, the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning will conduct its last training sessions for new Summer Food Service Program sponsors. These sponsors prepare and deliver meals to low-income children during the summer when schools are closed and students lose access to free- or reduced-price lunches. The state needs new […] Read more »
Author Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Radical Tax Policies in Kansas Offer Georgia a Cautionary Tale April 24, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Trimming Georgia’s income tax rate is a hot topic of late and will likely be debated during the 2014 election season and next year’s General Assembly. But a recently released report by the nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) about what is happening in Kansas should throw up a big “caution!” sign […] Read more » State Taxes
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Needy Georgians may go hungry April 18, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson As published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on April 18, 2014. The state’s chronic underfunding of its human service agency is provoking the threat of a federal crackdown, as its food stamp program isn’t keeping up with the increase in Georgians eligible for benefits following the Great Recession. Food stamps help put meals on the […] Read more »
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Georgia’s Disinvestment in Higher Education is at Expense of State’s Economic Future April 17, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 1 Comment on Georgia’s Disinvestment in Higher Education is at Expense of State’s Economic Future The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia raised next year’s tuition at Georgia Tech 9 percent on Tuesday, the same day that Home Depot’s director of talent acquisition told members of the governor’s High Demand Career Initiative the company cannot find enough software developers here. So Home Depot opened new technology centers […] Read more »
Author Blog Health Justice Timothy Sweeney Newspaper Series Shines Light on What Georgia Loses Without Medicaid Expansion April 17, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Timothy Sweeney The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Misty Williams just got a well-deserved laurel from the Columbia Journalism Review for her exemplary two-part series that clearly explains the tremendous downside to Georgia’s choice not to expand Medicaid. The second installment of the series last Sunday took a detailed look at the policy choice Georgia is making by not taking […] Read more »
Author Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Income Tax Cap Resolution a Low Point for 2014 Legislature April 11, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe A reckless constitutional amendment designed to tie the hands of future lawmakers and hamstring the state’s ability to meet its growing needs over time stands out as the worst tax legislation passed by the 2014 Georgia General Assembly. Senate Resolution 415 places a constitutional amendment on this November’s ballot asking whether Georgia’s income tax should […] Read more » State Taxes
