Author Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Reckless Budget Proposal Has Unintended Consequences January 28, 2014 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe | 1 Comment on Reckless Budget Proposal Has Unintended Consequences State lawmakers are considering a misguided proposal that could help put Georgia and our entire nation on a very dangerous path. Senate Resolution 736, sponsored by Senator Cecil Staton, would call on Congress to convene a national constitutional convention to enact a balanced budget amendment and other stiff restrictions on federal spending. Similar proposals are […] Read more » Federal Budget & Taxes
Author Budget and Taxes Library Policy Areas Reports Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice Overview: 2015 Fiscal Year Budget for Business Subsidies January 24, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe State Support for Private Sector Remains High Georgia plans to spend about $683 million on various tax breaks and economic development programs to subsidize private businesses in the upcoming 2015 fiscal year. This high level of support for Georgia’s private sector is an annual recurrence. Each year, state lawmakers spend hundreds of millions of dollars […] Read more » State Budget State Taxes
Author Blog Budget and Taxes Wesley Tharpe Tax Shift Plans Front and Center at GBPI’s Jan. 8 Policy Conference December 12, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Georgia’s tax system has needed a tune up for years. But brewing plans for a drastic overhaul threaten to do much more harm than good. A cadre of Georgia lawmakers and activists is pushing to drastically change how our state funds its public needs and, in the process, critically undermine our state’s ability to thrive […] Read more » State Taxes
Author Budget and Taxes Fact Sheets Library Policy Areas Wesley Tharpe Tax Shift Could Hit Most Georgia Seniors with a Tax Increase November 19, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Plans to drastically cut or abolish state income taxes and replace them with higher sales taxes are gaining traction in Georgia. Georgia’s seniors are more likely to be financially hurt by the proposed tax shift than younger people. Download the fact sheet. Read more » State Taxes
Author Budget and Taxes Fact Sheets K-12 Education Library Wesley Tharpe Tax Shift Proposals Would Hurt Georgia Schools November 18, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Plans to drastically cut or abolish state income taxes and replace them with higher sales taxes are gaining traction in Georgia. These tax shift plans threaten to harm Georgia’s schoolchildren and university students because deep income tax cuts would likely lead to new rounds of state budget cuts, on top of those already enacted in […] Read more » State Taxes
Author Blog Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice High Unemployment Among Georgia’s Many Workforce Challenges November 13, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe As we move closer toward another legislative session and heated election season, Georgia’s economy is sure to become a hot topic. It’s innate to state politics for governors, legislators and candidates to make claims about whether jobs and businesses are growing and whether working families are making progress. Just last week Georgians were beset by […] Read more »
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 Library Policy Areas Reports Wesley Tharpe Worker Justice State of Working Georgia 2013 October 24, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Georgians Struggle to Emerge from Shadow of Great Recession Georgia is still sputtering in the shadow of the Great Recession, with its workforce pressed from all sides by a sluggish economy, high unemployment, stagnant wages and at-risk public supports. When coupled with broader historical trends, such as shrinking opportunities for less-educated workers and labor market […] 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 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 »
