The Forum Archives - Georgia Public Policy Foundation

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The Humanity of Herbert Hoover: A Character of Caring

posted 4 years ago on August 29th, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

By Harold Brown Harold Brown, Senior Fellow, Georgia Public Policy Foundation History is fickle with heroic humans, even when they loom over their generation in service to humanity. Even presidents suffer the fickle hand of history, especially when events in their administrations overshadow them. It happened to Herbert Hoover. From the 1930s onward, most Americans associated him with a failed administration and economic deprivation that spawned terms like “Hoover buggy” (a dilapidated horse-drawn cart with an automobile axle and tires), “Hoover gravy” (without any meat flavor),” and “Hooverville.” John Steinbeck wrote in “Grapes of Wrath” about California, “there was a Hooverville on the edge of every town,” explaining, “The rag town lay close to water; and the houses were tents… View Article

Friday Facts: August 29, 2014

posted 4 years ago on August 29th, 2014 by admin 1 Comment

It’s Friday! We need your support for the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. It’s easy! Go to http://bit.ly/1lfwap4 to contribute and help us stand up for taxpayers, voters and small businesses of Georgia. Events Sept. 15: Health Connect South brings together Georgia’s top-tier health leaders and innovators to figure out how to work together to solve problems and make Georgia a leader in health care. Information and registration are at healthconnectsouth.com. Sept. 19: Reserve your seat at the 2014 Georgia Legislative Policy Forum to hear keynote speakers Herman Cain and Clint Bolick and experts on tax, education and health care reform in Georgia. The theme is “Tearing Down Walls,” in recognition of the 25th anniversary of the… View Article

Caveat Investor! Now Feds Want a Bite of Your Mutual Fund

posted 4 years ago on August 27th, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

(Paul S. Atkins and Peter Wallison are the speakers at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s August 28 Policy Briefing Luncheon, “Unaccountable Government in Action.” Find information about the luncheon here.) By Paul S. Atkins Paul S. Atkins Even with the stock market reaching all-time highs and many Americans smiling at the look of their 401(k) valuations, storm clouds are gathering in Washington and abroad that may mean higher costs for investors, lower returns in the long run, and less freedom to cash out when that rainy day comes. If you are trying to save for retirement, college tuition or a down payment, it is worth paying close attention to this unfolding debate on whether central planners in… View Article

Checking Up On Health: August 26, 2014

posted 4 years ago on August 26th, 2014 by admin 1 Comment

Health Policy News and Views Compiled by Benita Dodd BENITA DODD Allergies are nothing to sniff at – especially if you’re starting to have trouble breathing! Five hours after I was stung by a wasp, my face was still swelling! I usually try to show my best side in photographs. But, as my sacrifice to good health, to the right is one of my very swollen face a few hours after I was stung under the eye by a wasp Saturday while gardening. I quickly swallowed a couple of antihistamines and sat down to wait. About 45 minutes later, I was at the Walgreen’s MinuteClinic, my face swelling visibly despite a cold compress over my eye. By the time… View Article

Friday Facts: August 22, 2014

posted 4 years ago on August 22nd, 2014 by admin 5 Comments

It’s Friday! Events Aug. 28: Register by Tuesday for,“Unaccountable Government in Action: Capital Markets in the Fed’s Cross-Hairs,”a noon Policy Briefing Luncheon at Cobb County’s Georgian Club. Former SEC Commissioner Paul S. Atkins and the American Enterprise Institute’s Peter Wallison discuss the risky regulatory expansion of the Dodd-Frank Act. $30. For information and registration, go to www.georgiapolicy.org/?p=13956. Sept. 15: Health Connect South brings together Georgia’s top-tier health leaders and innovators to figure out how to work together to solve problems and make Georgia a leader in health care. Information and registration are at healthconnectsouth.com. Sept. 19: Reserve your seat at the 2014 Georgia Legislative Policy Forum to hear keynote speakers Herman Cain and Clint Bolick… View Article

Georgia Can Lead in Savings with Plan to Eliminate Medical Malpractice

posted 4 years ago on August 22nd, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

By Dr. Brian E. Hill and Wayne Oliver During the next few weeks, many of Americans will receive some very bad news at work or in the mail: Health insurance premiums are expected to skyrocket for 2015 because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The PwC Health Research Institute projects double-digit rate increases for health insurance plans in Florida, North Carolina and Iowa, for example. With health insurance becoming so unaffordable, many will be wondering why the ACA didn’t take steps to reduce health care costs. One linchpin Washington politicians skipped in addressing the health care crisis was addressing medical malpractice reform. ObamaCare did nothing to protect physicians and hospitals from frivolous lawsuits or to deter the costly practice of… View Article

Utopian Academy Determined to Succeed in Clayton County

posted 4 years ago on August 21st, 2014 by admin 3 Comments

Sixth in a series about new Georgia start-up charter public schools MIKE KLEINEditor, Georgia Public Policy Foundation By Mike Klein We hear a lot about how reduced state funding caused public school systems to schedule fewer than the 180-day traditional calendar. This year sixth and seventh graders at Utopian Academy for the Arts were scheduled for 190 school days, even as students in the Clayton County public school system are scheduled for 175 days. That would be three more school weeks at Utopian. “Our school year looks a lot different from the traditional public school setting,” said Utopian founder and executive director Artesius Miller. There are other differences. Classrooms are single gender and Utopian offers middle school electives that you… View Article

Loudermilk: Conservatives oppose ‘needless and excessive spending’

posted 4 years ago on August 20th, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Former Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood was in Atlanta on August 5 and addressed a joint legislative committee on transportation funding. He said Georgia needs more clout in Congress. Barry Loudermilk, congressional candidate and former member of both the Georgia House and Senate transportation committees, wrote this response to Jim Galloway of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on LaHood’s comments; it was published in The Political Insider column. (Benita Dodd wrote about the legislative committee hearing; read it here.) By Barry Loudermilk I read with interest former congressman Ray LaHood’s comments, about the lack of a Georgian on the Congressional Transportation Committee, and AJC columnist Jim Galloway’s analysis thereof; and I felt compelled to contribute a conservative counterpoint to their conclusions.… View Article

Atlanta Classical Academy Educates Citizens for a Free Republic

posted 4 years ago on August 20th, 2014 by admin 1 Comment

Fifth in a series about new Georgia start-up public charter schools MIKE KLEINEditor, Georgia Public Policy Foundation By Mike Klein Each morning students at Atlanta Classical Academy finish the Pledge of Allegiance and then they add, “I will learn the true. I will do the good. I will love the beautiful.” ACA Principal Terrence Moore said he introduced these simple ideas because, “If they can hold by those principles and if they really commit them in their minds and hearts then they will have a life that is rich and full of happiness.” Atlanta Classic Academy opened this month at full capacity with 488 K-through-8 students in a former private school located on Northside Drive in northwest Atlanta. ACA is… View Article

Checking Up On Health: August 19, 2014

posted 4 years ago on August 19th, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Health Policy News and Views Compiled By Benita M. Dodd BENITA DODD Several friends have raved about the healing/soothing/therapeutic/calming/antidepressant benefits of essential oils, but I’m still not buying them. (Although, if you want to give me some, I’ll gladly try them!) I would love to hear from readers about their experiences, but truth be told, I’m as skeptical about the multilevel marketers’ claims regarding these costly essential oils as I am about the overrated cures that some chiropractors promise. There, I put it out there. And then there’s Whole Foods Market. I was reading about the Affordable Care Act on Forbes.com when up popped a story titled, “The Three Dumbest Things About Whole Foods Market.” If there’s one… View Article