Author Cash and Safety Net Library Melissa Johnson Policy Areas Reports Georgians with Disabilities Miss Out on $92 Million in Federal Grants October 10, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson As the number of Georgians with disabilities grew over the last four years, funding that could have helped prepare them for employment decreased. Drastic cuts to state investment in specialized job training, counseling and other vocational rehabilitation led Georgia to leave $92 million in federal funding on the table, enough to serve roughly 28,000 more […] 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 »
Author Library Presentations Wesley Tharpe Senate Fair Tax Study Committee September 26, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Presentation: Wesley Tharpe, Policy Analyst, Georgia Budget & Policy Institute September 20, 2013 | State Senate Chambers, Georgia Capitol Download the presentation. 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 »
Author Blog Health Justice Timothy Sweeney U.S. Census: Health Care Access for Georgians Among the Worst in U.S. September 18, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Timothy Sweeney Georgia continues to rank near the bottom for access to health insurance and the growth in Georgia’s uninsured rate continues to outpace national averages, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report this week. These rankings reflect more than a decade of failed health care policy in Georgia that increased barriers to enrollment in public […] Read more »
Author Claire Suggs K-12 Education Library Reports The Schoolhouse Squeeze September 17, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs State Cuts, Plunging Property Values Pinch School Districts Georgia’s school districts are struggling against a relentless financial squeeze. The Georgia Legislature cut billions in state funding for public schools in recent years, while plunging property values drove down the main local source of revenue, the property tax. Meanwhile, the number of low-income students is soaring, […] Read more » K-12
Author Claire Suggs Fact Sheets K-12 Education Library Policy Areas The Schoolhouse Squeeze Report Summary September 17, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs State Cuts, Plunging Property Values Pinch School Districts School districts across Georgia are relentlessly pressed by ongoing cuts in state funding and simultaneous declines in property values. “The Schoolhouse Squeeze,” a new report from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, takes a fresh look at the convergence of shrinking state financial support and declining local […] Read more » K-12
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Georgia’s September Bill is Due, but Unemployed Georgians Stuck with Most of the Tab September 13, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson Georgia has to pay its monthly bills, just like the people who call the state home. This month, Georgia has an important bill to pay – the interest payment on the federal loan to the unemployment insurance trust fund. Georgia plans to stick its financially fragile unemployed workers with most of this bill, possibly hurting […] Read more »
