People-Powered Prosperity

People-Powered Prosperity

It is clearer than ever before that our state’s economy is not inclusive of every Georgian–and our entire state suffers as a result. People-Powered Prosperity details a vision for how state lawmakers can pursue strategies to help Georgians recover and thrive, as well as how the state can responsibly pay for the services our families rely on. Our state boasts a successful business community and an attractive place to work, but problems and barriers across Georgia persist, including poverty, sky-high costs for college and child care, the maternal mortality crisis and inequities among women and people of color. These problems existed before COVID-19, but the pandemic has underscored them. Recovery is only possible if we invest in every Georgian and ensure no one is left out. This campaign, led by GBPI, 9to5 Georgia, Faith in Public Life and Small Business Majority, offers policy solutions to these issues and explains how Georgia can fund statewide prosperity. During the 2023 Legislative Session, several PPP priorities advanced through the Legislature, and though this campaign will end in 2023, the work towards advancing a proactive revenue agenda and policies that strengthen economic security for Georgians continues. Read our latest progress report here.

The Roadmap to People-Powered Prosperity Runs Through Four Key Pillars

Georgia Can Afford an Ambitious Investment in its People

Fully funding our state’s shared priorities requires balancing Georgia’s state budget with sustainable revenue sources that fairly tax residents across the state. It is also important to reverse tax policies that cause the lowest-income families to pay the highest percentage of their earnings in state and local taxes and to make certain that the state avoids costly and inefficient loopholes or unnecessary tax breaks.

By modernizing the state’s tax code and implementing common-sense policies with demonstrated success in other states across the nation, Georgia’s leaders can both increase the state’s ability to fund its priorities and more equitably tax households. In order to achieve this goal, state leaders can:

  • Preserve and strengthen the income tax for households and corporations by defending against cuts that largely benefit top earners and scaling back the double deduction to stabilize revenues and recover quickly during times of economic downtown
  • Evaluate tax breaks for big business in order to trim back those that do not deliver enough benefit to offset the state’s lost revenue
  • Increase the cigarette tax to the national average in order to raise over $500 million in annual revenues while discouraging tobacco use
  • Extend the sales tax to cover all online purchases and some services

Recent Work

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Georgians at Risk of Losing Medicaid as Continuous Coverage Requirement Ends

Key Takeaways: Between the start of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement in March 2020 and December 2021 (the ...
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Sine Die 2022: Improvements to Health and Education Affordability Are Coming, But Risky Tax Legislation Passes, too

This year’s Legislative Session finished in a flurry of last-minute votes that extended late into the night on ...
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General Assembly Considers Rewrite of State Income Tax Code, House-Passed Bill Primarily Benefits Wealthiest

Key Takeaways Members of the House and Senate are debating a series of major changes to Georgia’s personal ...
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Crossover Day 2022: Strong Health and Economic Legislation Cross Over, But Dangerous Tax Threat Remains

Yesterday, March 15, marked Crossover Day 2022, the day by which a bill generally must pass out of ...
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Temporary Exemptions from SNAP’s Three-Month Time Limit Supports Food Security

Georgians recognize that when an individual cannot find a job or when the state experiences economic hardship, supports ...
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Fact Sheet: Georgia’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Family’s Benefit Has Not Increased in More Than 30 Years and Fails to Meet the Growing Cost of Basic Needs

      Georgia’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Family’s (TANF) benefit has not increased in more than 30 ...

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