Author Library Policy Areas Reports Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice Better Pay for Honest Work November 12, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Raise Georgia’s Minimum Wage to Expand Middle Class, Strengthen Economy Georgia’s economy is increasingly tilted toward the types of jobs that don’t pay workers enough to make ends meet or keep their families out of poverty. They are food servers at local restaurants. Retail clerks selling products they can’t afford. Home health aides helping the […] Read more »
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education The New Normal Does Not Work for Georgia’s Students November 5, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 1 Comment on The New Normal Does Not Work for Georgia’s Students The responses we got from our annual survey of Georgia educators this summer are troubling, the stress often pouring off the pages. Here is an example from Coffee County Schools: “[The greatest impact of the QBE austerity cuts have been] class size increases, elimination of teachers, para-professionals, secretarial and administration positions, furlough days, classified employees’ […] Read more » K-12
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
Author Claire Suggs K-12 Education Library Policy Areas Reports Cutting Class to Make Ends Meet 2014 October 16, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Claire Suggs 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 programs in response to state cuts. A modest increase of $314 million in state funding […] 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 »
