It’s Friday!
Events
Today: GOP presidential candidates and the Foundation’s Benita Dodd are at Red State Gathering! Join Benita at, “Due Process Denied: How Civil Asset Forfeiture Undermines Freedom,” a 12:30 p.m. breakout session at Red State Gathering, (Hope Room, Intercontinental Buckhead Hotel). Moderated by Jason Pye, FreedomWorks’ Director of Justice Reform, the panel will include Marc Levin of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Lance Lemmonds of the Coalition for Public Safety.
October 15: The Sixth Annual Georgia Legislative Policy Forum takes place at the Renaissance Waverly Atlanta on Thursday, Oct. 15. Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, is the keynote. The theme is, “Wisdom, Justice and Opportunity.” Details here. Registration is $125 per person; an Early Bird rate ($100) applies until Friday, September 4. Register here. Sponsorships are available; contact Benita Dodd.
Quotes of Note
“Today Democrats employ the [Voting Rights Act] to challenge common-sense voter-ID laws and centuries-old systems in cities and counties where officials are elected at large instead of by specific geographic districts. Republicans use it to pack minorities into ultrasafe, majority-minority Democratic districts, thus making the surrounding areas more Republican. … So today as the nation fittingly commemorates the original accomplishments of the VRA, let us not forget how, over time, some great laws can develop into very bad ones.” – Edward Blum
“Congratulations Boston! Your rejection of the ‘honor’ of representing the U.S. as its candidate for the 2024 Summer Olympics is an inspiring example of government performing its obligation to taxpayers and their hard earned money,” – Wendell Cox
Education
Investing in tech: School librarians are utilizing technology tools more heavily than in previous years, but they remain challenged by budget shortfalls and limited school Web connectivity, according to School Library Journal‘s 2015 Technology Survey. Fortunately, Georgia’s Connections for Classrooms is a $65 million grant program ensuring schools and classrooms have the high-speed broadband access required for digital and blended learning. Source: Education Week
Energy and environment
Cleaning out your wallet: The Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan unveiled this week is expected to reduce global temperatures by 0.01 degrees Celsius … at a cost of $2.5 trillion to the U.S. economy. Source: American Action Forum
Health care
States that expanded Medicaid: Treating enrollees in the states that expanded Medicaid cost about $1,000 more than anticipated. •Enrollment is far above what most states had planned. •Cost estimates are up 50 percent in Michigan and have more than doubled in Kentucky and Ohio. •Nonprofit hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid didn’t fare any better financially than those in states that rejected expansion. •ER usage is three times higher in expansion states than in non-expansion states. Source: Forbes
Economic opportunity
Minimum wage, maximum grief: The liberal Web site Slate reports on the folly of raising the federal minimum wage. “There are vast swaths of the United States where the cost of getting by is relatively reasonable, and where the risk of job losses posed by more than doubling the federal minimum may well outweigh the benefits of giving the remaining workers raises.” It also highlights the problems of housing costs; metro Atlanta’s housing costs remain affordable, thanks to reasonable land use policies.
Friday Flashback
This month in the archives: In August 2005, the Foundation published, “New City Promises New Hope for Limiting Government.” It noted: “With a focus on efficiency and more importantly effectiveness of public service, Sandy Springs has embraced the power of competition to determine how services will be provided.”
Media
YouTube: Watch Dr. Ben Scafidi’s presentation at the Friedman Legacy for Freedom event in Savannah on the Foundation’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Ce6ovnNEx5w.
The Forum: In “Checking Up On Health,” Benita Dodd discusses colon cancer, which claimed the life of a friend this week.
Foundation in the media: Harold Brown’s Commentary, “Government ‘charity:’ Unwarranted and Unsustainable,” was published by Watchdog.org and the Columbia County News-Times. Benita Dodd’s commentary, “Civil asset forfeiture: Private property rights next frontier?” was published in The Citizen.
Social media: Join the Foundation’s more than 2,415 Facebook” “likes” and 1,450 Twitter followers at twitter.com/gppf. Now you can follow us on Instagram, too!
Visit www.georgiapolicy.org to read our latest commentary, “Snake Oil in The Clean Power Plan,” by Benita M. Dodd.
Have a great weekend!
Kelly McCutchen and Benita Dodd
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