Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Georgia Families Lose Food Assistance, Bigger Threat Looms October 30, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on Georgia Families Lose Food Assistance, Bigger Threat Looms More than 1.9 million Georgians, including more than one in three Georgia children, are more likely to go hungry this month. At the outset of November dramatic cuts took effect for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP,” commonly called food stamps). If you missed the media coverage asking how so many Georgia families will put […] Read more » Melissa Johnson SNAP
Author Blog Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice GBPI’s Annual Guide to How the Economy Affects Working Georgians October 24, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Most Georgia families still struggle to emerge from the long shadow of the Great Recession. Unemployment remains high, wages are flat, breadwinners work part-time when they want full-time jobs, public supports are still threatened and the economy isn’t adding jobs fast enough to recover from the downturn anytime soon. Those are among the findings of […] Read more »
Author Blog Health Justice Timothy Sweeney Medicaid Expansion Could Close Coverage Gap for 409,000 Georgians October 22, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Timothy Sweeney A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation provides the latest evidence of the importance of expanding Medicaid in Georgia. According to the report, more than 409,000 Georgians who could otherwise get health coverage through expanded Medicaid will instead remain uninsured, or stuck in a “coverage gap” created by the state’s refusal to expand eligibility. […] Read more »
Author Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice Tax Foundation Report is a Poor Guide for Tax Policy October 16, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Each year, the right-leaning Tax Foundation stirs up a slew of short-lived publicity by giving Georgia a mediocre ranking in its annual “business tax climate” report. But these rankings are meaningless as a measure of whether Georgia is a good place to do business, and they offer a faulty roadmap for how state policymakers should […] Read more » State Taxes
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Taifa Smith Butler Georgia Gets a Failing Grade for the Overall Well-being of Women October 11, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Taifa Smith Butler | 4 Comments on Georgia Gets a Failing Grade for the Overall Well-being of Women Once again, sigh, Georgia is among the worst in a new analysis that ranks states by how well its citizens are faring. Georgia ranks as the 41st worst state for women, according to a recent report by the Center for American Progress. “The State of Women in America” analyzes various factors around women’s livelihood, considering […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Georgia Passes up $92 Million in Federal Help for People With Disabilities October 10, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 2 Comments on Georgia Passes up $92 Million in Federal Help for People With Disabilities People with disabilities have known for years that Georgia misses out on federal money that could help them prepare for employment. A new Georgia Budget and Policy Institute report adds up the full extent of Georgia’s missed opportunity from 2009 to 2012 – $92 million. Drastic cuts to state investment in specialized job training, counseling […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Faulty Premise Leads to “Work Requirements” in Bill that Cuts $39 Billion from Food Stamps September 27, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson The U.S. House passed a bill last week to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP,” commonly called food stamps) by $39 billion over ten years. Some House members characterized the bill as an introduction of “work requirements,” but the real effect of the bill would just make it extremely hard for about 168,000 unemployed […] Read more »
Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Sharing Some Tax Ideas with the Georgia Senate September 26, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe | 1 Comment on Sharing Some Tax Ideas with the Georgia Senate Last week I testified before the special Fair Tax Study Committee of the Georgia state senate, which is charged with reviewing whether a drastic shift from income taxes to sales taxes is a good idea for Georgia. As the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) explained in a recent report, there are several key reasons […] Read more » State Taxes
Alan Essig Author Blog Budget and Taxes Official 2013 Tally is in, Georgia Rainy Day Fund Still Wanting September 25, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Alan Essig | 2 Comments on Official 2013 Tally is in, Georgia Rainy Day Fund Still Wanting Georgia’s surplus from the 2013 is relatively small, as it turns out, slightly rebuilding the state’s reserves, while doing nothing to free up additional money for next year’s budget. That is the key take away from the State Accounting Office’s final report showing the official 2013 revenue surplus and the preliminary numbers for the Revenue […] Read more » State Budget
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson New U.S. Census Report: Georgia’s Child Poverty Ranking Worsens September 19, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on New U.S. Census Report: Georgia’s Child Poverty Ranking Worsens Georgia joined the ranks of the ten worst states with the highest percentage of children living in poverty in 2012, moving from eleventh to sixth, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report. It’s the first time Georgia ranked among the ten worst since the ranking was first reported in 2005. The large number of […] Read more »
