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Category: Commentaries

Why Georgia Needs to Balance the Public-Private Playing Field

posted 20 years ago on December 21st, 1998 by Leave a Comment
By Steve Langford The rush by many Georgia cities to enter new businesses and expand existing ones, in direct and unfair competition with small and large private companies, poses the primary long-term fiscal challenge to Governor Barnes and the Legislature. Many cities are adding to their traditional services — water, sewer, trash, gas and electric — such new ventures as cable TV, telecommunications, hotels, real estate development, construction services, appliance sales, etc. This alarming trend in local government is the purest form of socialism and is crashing onto the scene at a time when all other levels of government are discovering inefficiencies and privatizing services at a steady pace. The problems with government expansion into these areas are evident: Government… View Article

Obstruction of Justice: The State Crime Lab in Crisis

posted 20 years ago on September 16th, 1998 by Leave a Comment
By Joe D. Whitley, Daniel J. Adamson In today’s atmosphere of political pragmatism and fiscal responsibility, few people see government as a cure-all for society’s ills; instead, our elected officials increasingly look for solutions in partnerships with the private sector. One such private-sector partnership should be considered as a means to improve the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s (GBI) State Crime Lab. Founded nearly forty years ago as the second statewide forensics facility in the nation, our crime lab was once a leader in the field. Today, however, it is a prime example of a facility in need of massive reform. Georgia’s crime lab is plagued by neglect, an ever-increasing caseload, and problems resulting from changes in the nature and investigation… View Article

Should the Corporate Income Tax be Repealed?

posted 21 years ago on May 15th, 1998 by Leave a Comment
By Martin F. Grace Georgia, like most of her sister states, has a corporate income tax. The corporate income tax was first introduced in Georgia in 1929. The rate has always been a flat proportional rate, fluctuating up and down during the years within the range of 4 percent and 7.5 percent. The present rate of 6 percent has not changed since 1969. The corporate franchise tax, levied on net worth, is administered in conjunction with the corporate income tax. In 1997, these two taxes constituted approximately 6.91 percent of the state’s tax revenues. However, this percentage fluctuates from year to year and has decreased over the past number of years. In 1997, corporations paid $729.5 million in these two… View Article

Atlanta’s Ongoing Water and Sewer Crisis Calls for State Action

posted 21 years ago on October 28th, 1997 by Leave a Comment
By Kelly McCutchen As has been well reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta’s next mayor faces a ticking time bomb – the city’s water and sewer system. Due to years of neglect and poor design, raw sewage continues to flow into Atlanta’s rivers and streams, polluting the waterways for both Atlanta citizens and Georgians living downstream. Even more frightening is the recent finding that the city’s drinking water is at risk of contamination. In addition, the lack of sewer capacity threatens to freeze economic growth – growth that is crucial to Atlanta’s and Georgia’s future. Where is the public outrage? Where is the Sierra Club? If the Dow Chemical Company had flagrantly dumped more than two million of gallons of… View Article

Mugged by Reality

posted 21 years ago on October 17th, 1997 by Leave a Comment
Eight Lessons We’ve Learned About the Epidemic of Crime and What to Do About it Eugene H. Methvin In the 30 years since Congress first established a federal agency for the study of crime, we have spent millions of dollars on criminological studies. That investment is finally bearing fruit. Aided by powerful new computers crunching reams of data, social scientists have learned a lot about criminal careers, how they develop, and how society can thwart them. The most serious offenders against people and property in this country generally hit their criminal peak between 16 and 18 years of age. The hard-core young thug-to-be starts stealing from mama’s purse before he’s 10. By the fourth and fifth grades, he is skipping… View Article

Making Transition to Privatized Social Security

posted 22 years ago on January 8th, 1997 by Leave a Comment
By Mike Tanner Social security is in serious financial trouble. Only by privatizing the system can we avoid the huge tax hikes and benefit cuts required to keep the system solvent — tax hikes and benefit cuts that will worsen an already bad deal for today’s young workers. However, any proposal for privatizing Social Security must deal with the difficult question of financing the transition to a new privatized system. Put quite simply, regardless of what system we choose for the future, we have a moral obligation to continue benefits to today’s recipients. But if current workers divert their payroll taxes to a private system, those monies will no longer be available to pay current benefits; the government will have… View Article

Why Georgia Needs a New Approach to Testing

posted 22 years ago on November 8th, 1996 by Leave a Comment
By Dr. Franklin Shumake Georgia spent $4 million in 1995 (test development, administration and training) evaluating students using Georgia-designed tests that compare Georgia students with other Georgia students. Moreover, the tests are geared specifically to a Georgia curriculum. Ironically, this testing program is not only very costly, it perpetuates mediocrity and prevents parents and teachers from knowing how Georgia students compare with students from other states and regions. Individual Scores and National Comparisons Student achievement will improve in Georgia on a student-by-student basis. Teachers can best assist students when they have a clear picture of the academic strengths and weaknesses of individual students. A testing program should provide teachers with this data, enabling them to teach a student rather than… View Article

Why Our High School Graduates Should Take a Citizenship Test

posted 23 years ago on June 4th, 1996 by Leave a Comment
By Sunny Park Sunny Park was born in 1942 in Seoul, South Korea. After coming to the United States in 1967 and gaining full citizenship in 1974, he became a successful businessman and an active member of his community. As a relative newcomer to this country, he is concerned that America’s youth are not being taught, and consequently do not fully appreciate, the principles their forbearers fought for in creating the freest nation on Earth and how fortunate they are to be Americans.  As an immigrant, I have personally learned and benefitted from the tremendous value of this great country, the United States of America. I think it can be summarized as follows: • Freedom — A people willing to… View Article

Has Government Abandoned Its Founding Principles?

posted 24 years ago on April 5th, 1995 by Leave a Comment
By Amos R. McMullian History does not repeat itself. Human nature repeats itself. It is the nature of humans to stray from the straight and narrow — from sin, and back again; from peace to war and back again; from poverty to prosperity and back to poverty again. It is the nature of humans to forget this, and they need to be reminded. This cycle of human nature goes on in both the people and in their leaders. Sometimes the people are wrong. Sometimes the leadership is wrong. Sometimes both of them are wrong. Bad public policy causes people to suffer. Our Founding Fathers understood human nature. They understood that incentives matter and they knew that government can destroy wealth… View Article

What Ever Happened to the Tenth Amendment?

posted 24 years ago on November 28th, 1994 by Leave a Comment
By Kelly McCutchen “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” — Tenth Amendment, Constitution of the United States of America The best way to check the powers of government is to keep government close to the people.  The Tenth Amendment represented an attempt by our Founding Fathers to protect the states from the federal government.  Unfortunately, this protection has been trampled by Congress, and the primary means used has been through unfunded federal mandates. Federal mandates are laws or policies passed by Congress, such as the Motor Voter Law or the Clean Air Act, that state or local governments… View Article

The Foundation’s Criminal Justice Initiative pushed the problems to the forefront, proposed practical solutions, brought in leaders from other states to share examples, and created this nonpartisan opportunity. (At the signing of the 2012 Criminal Justice Reform bill.)

Governor Nathan Deal more quotes
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