By Rep. Earnest 'Coach' Williams
Under the guise of racing to the top, Gov. Sonny Perdue is speeding our children to the bottom. Republican leadership in this state has continued to disrespect our hardest, most important workers in the state - our teachers. Georgia's education system used to be one of the most dynamic systems in the U.S., but education continues to move lower and lower on the state Republican's list of prioritites.
The Governor’s proposed budget includes hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to education, which will join billions in cuts over the last eight years. The Republican budget not only puts less money in the pockets of teachers, it also means per student state spending falls to the lowest level in decades. When our state is in peril, now is the worst possible time to stop investing in our futures: our children.
The...
By: Jason Pye
As a libertarian, I believe that government has a very limited and defined role. It is supposed to protect its citizens through national defense, protect private property and solve legal disputes that may arise. Outside of that, government has no legitimate right to interfere in my life. As long as an individual is not infringing on the rights of another, they should be allowed to pursue happiness in whatever way they see fit.
If public policy were measured by intentions, the ills of the state would be solved by a...
By Rep. Ron Stephens
I’m a proud Republican and a fiscal conservative. I’m also the lead sponsor on a bill that would raise an estimated $350 million in new state taxes and attract another billion dollars in federal health care funds to Georgia. What’s more, I’m looking forward to running for re-election this year and will campaign on this issue.
If all this sounds confusing and contradictory, let me explain. House Bill 39 would raise the state tax on cigarettes by a dollar a pack – from the current 37-cents a pack (fifth lowest in the nation) to $1.37. For a whole host of reasons, this is an idea whose time has come.
For me, the case for the so-called “buck a pack” increase rests mainly on the need to promote the good health of our citizens (by discouraging smoking) and on the issue of tax equity.
Right now Georgia’s 37-cents a pack cigarette tax generates about $237 million a year, but we spend $537 million a year treating smoking-...
By Sarah Beth Gehl
Why should Georgians give corporations — including many headquartered in other states and countries — a special tax break during a recession when the state cannot afford to pay for our schools, state parks, courts, and child abuse protection workers, among many, many other vital services?
That is just what House Bills 998 and 1023 propose to do. HB 1023 passed the House Small Business Development and Job Creation Committee, while HB 998 remains in the House Ways and Means Committee.
More than half of corporations pay just the minimum for the corporate net worth tax —only $10. Georgia faces a $4.6 billion deficit and our recovery is going slowly: Every single dollar counts, including the $30 million from this tax.
There is no evidence that ending this tax will incite businesses to come to Georgia, nor make up for the lost revenue. If the tax is a nuisance for businesses, then lawmakers should make common sense reforms,...
By Sen. Tim Golden
In his eighth and final year of office, Gov. Sonny Perdue has his legislative floor leaders pushing a proposal that would do away with salary scales for public school educators based on their experience level, in favor of a “merit pay” system that would be largely tied to students’ scores on standardized tests.
SB 386 is under consideration in the Senate Education & Youth Committee, where it should stay because it is a terrible idea for Georgia’s public schools. Student achievement is – and should be – the ultimate goal of our school system, connecting standardized test scores to teachers’ and administrators’ paychecks is not the way to reach that goal and could, in fact, have an adverse effect.
First of all, standardized testing is only one means of measuring academic success and is not necessarily the most reliable. It is an even less reliable method of evaluating the performance of...
Brandon Shinholser is a candidate for Mayor of Athens-Clarke County.
The strength and potential of Athens-Clarke County relies heavily on the development of the Annual Operating and Capital Budget, which echoes within every line the many ways in which city funds are spent, as well as the overall direction of the local government.
The budget development process begins about nine months prior to the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1st. The early process entails setting goals for the fiscal year and reviewing project requests as well as
recommendations. Furthermore, Athens-Clarke County departments and constitutional officers then submit Operating and Capital Budget requests to the Manager and Mayor for a comprehensive review. After months of collaboration and evaluation, the Mayor submits a recommended budget to the Commission for review. The Commission reviews the Mayor’s...
By Sen. Tim Golden
State revenues just declined by another $136.9 million in January, a drop-off of 8.7 percent from last year. Through the first seven months of this fiscal year, Georgia’s deep economic recession has caused a shortfall of nearly $1.3 billion.
As secretary of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I can attest that legislative budget writers are scrutinizing not only every line item on the expenditure side of the ledger as we deal with the state’s fiscal crisis, we are also seeking ways to maximize the income side. Severe budget cuts are taking their toll on state services and affecting Georgians’ lives in critical areas like education, health care and public safety.
Some lawmakers have questioned whether the twice-a-year state sales tax holidays on certain goods are costing the treasury too much money and need to be discontinued or at least suspended until the economy turns around. The answer to that...
Alan Essig is the Executive Director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that analyzes budget and tax issues in Georgia.
Revenues should be part of a balanced, responsible approach to closing the gap between the growing needs of Georgia’s people and the resources the state has to meet those needs.
Why? Because relying on spending cuts alone hurt struggling families too much today, damage the state’s economy, slow recovery from the recession, and poorly position the state for when prosperity returns.
Georgia’s economy is in crisis. As we face the worst recession in our lifetimes, unemployment continues at record levels. Hundreds of thousands of Georgians have lost their jobs during the past 18 months. Georgians’ applications for unemployment insurance, food stamps, Medicaid, and various social service programs have increased...
Shinholser is a candidate for mayor of Athens-Clarke County.
Brandon Shinholser
P.O. Box 7093
Athens, GA 30606
(706) 363-0242
brandon@brandon2010.com
January 29, 2009
Open Letter to President Doug Rauch
Trader Joe's Specialty Grocery Stores
PO Box 5049
Monrovia, CA 91017
Dear Mr. Rauch:
I am a candidate for Mayor of Athens, GA, but this is not my only reason for writing this letter; Instead, I am writing to you today on behalf of the entirety of the citizens of Athens. There has been positive speculation regarding the possibility of bringing a Trader Joe’s to our hometown. In recent months, there have been groups of individuals popping up all over Facebook. Some of those groups totaled as many as 1, 500 local members. Local businesses, as well as individual patrons, are circulating petitions to show their support for making your...
By Kelly Girtz
