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State Policy Network Profiles Kyle Wingfield

posted 3 months ago on July 17th, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

The State Policy Network interviewed Kyle Wingfield, who became the president and CEO of The Georgia Public Policy Foundation in April 2018. The interview is republished below in its entirety and can be accessed at https://spn.org/leader-spotlight-kyle-wingfield-gppf/. Leader Spotlight: Kyle Wingfield, Georgia Public Policy Foundation Welcome to SPN’s interview series where we connect with leaders from state think tanks to share their stories and learn how their insights might inspire our work. In this interview we chat with Kyle Wingfield, the new president and CEO of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation a few months ago, Kyle spent many years as a columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering policy issues in the state of Georgia.… View Article

Friday Facts: July 13, 2018

posted 3 months ago on July 13th, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

It’s Friday! Be sure to read the Leader Spotlight on Kyle Wingfield, published by the State Policy Network! Quotes of note “Judges, therefore, should be always men of learning and experience in the laws, of exemplary morals, great patience, calmness, coolness, and attention. Their minds should not be distracted with jarring interests; they should not be dependent upon any man, or body of men.” – John Adams (1776) “My judicial philosophy is straightforward. A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written. And a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent.” Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to replace… View Article

Another Summer of Polar Bears and Thin Ice

posted 3 months ago on July 13th, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

By Harold Brown Hot summer days once again provide the backdrop for highlighting threats to wildlife icons and providing dramatic publicity for climate change activists. Threats to Arctic icons heighten the drama, and the emblem of polar bears “in danger” and attacking humans becomes the clarion call for climate “solutions.” The London Times, in a 2009 book review, called the polar bear “the animal of the new millennium” and “an emblem of despair.” It gained a huge emblematic boost in 2004, when The Wall Street Journal published the findings of two federal investigators who saw four dead bears floating off Alaska’s coast during polar bear and whale aerial surveys. Images of drowning bears further inflamed passions in Al Gore’s film,… View Article

Georgia’s Taxing Options after the Supreme Court’s Online Sales Tax Ruling

posted 3 months ago on July 6th, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

By Jeffrey Dorfman A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month means even companies without a physical presence in a state can be required to collect sales taxes if states so choose. The ruling, in South Dakota v. Wayfair, levels the playing field between online and brick-and-mortar retailers but comes with a bad side effect: an effective tax increase. Consumers will pay a little more in taxes, and state and local governments that receive that money will spend more. Neither is a good thing. The amount of money at stake is not huge, but it’s not trivial. Online sales represent about 9 percent of total retail. However, many e-commerce transactions are with stores that already have a physical presence in that… View Article

Friday Facts: July 6, 2018

posted 3 months ago on July 6th, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

It’s Friday! Quotes of note “We should never despair, our situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new exertions and proportion our efforts to the exigency of the times.” – George Washington (1777) “Simple cause-and-effect logic tells us that if you want to lose weight, you don’t eat french fries and ice cream at every meal. It’s common sense. But every day, legislators pass bills that have opposite and counterproductive effects. So much for logic.” – Veronique de Rugy Subscribe to the Friday Facts here. Support the Foundation and its mission here. Events August 23: Join the… View Article

Friday Facts: June 29, 2018

posted 4 months ago on June 29th, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

It’s Friday! Quotes of note “Trade unions up to a certain point have been recognized now as organs for good. They are the only means by which workmen can protect themselves from the tyranny of those who employ them. But the moment that trade unions become tyrants in their turn, they are engines for evil: they have no right to prevent people from working on any terms that they choose.” – Nathaniel Lindley (1896) “It has long, however, been my opinion, and I have never shrunk from its expression … that the germ of dissolution of our federal government is in the constitution of the federal Judiciary; working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and… View Article

New Rule Creates New Opportunities for Health Insurance

posted 4 months ago on June 29th, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

By Joey Costa A new rule from the U.S. Department of Labor will allow more small employers and self-employed individuals to join forces to create Association Health Plans, providing consumers more choice and even some control over their insurance. According to U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, the rule will help “level the playing field” for small businesses, allowing these associations to use economies of scale to lower the cost of insurance. Under the current Affordable Care Act (ACA) regulations, small employers and individuals purchasing coverage have no bargaining power, leaving them with what the insurance companies offer. Consumers have no voice into what their plan covers, and ACA regulations prohibit pricing advantages to groups of consumers. The new rule… View Article

Georgia Laws Taking Effect July 1, 2018

posted 4 months ago on June 28th, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

By Sophia Strickland A summary of Georgia laws taking effect July 1, 2018: TRANSPORTATION Hands-Free Georgia Act: Motorists will be prohibited from talking on cell phones without using a speaker or Bluetooth device while the car is not lawfully parked. People may touch their phone to use navigation or accept a call if the phone is attached to a mount or in a storage spot. There are exceptions to this law for report a traffic accident, medical emergency, criminal activity, or a immediate and serious traffic or safety hazard. House Bill 930: This law creates the ATL (Atlanta-region Transit Link) Authority to oversee the development of new transit options; it also provides the 13 metro Atlanta counties the… View Article

Foundation Issues Statement on Supreme Court ‘Water Wars’ Ruling

posted 4 months ago on June 27th, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

News Release | For Immediate Release June 27, 2018 Contact: Benita Dodd benitadodd@georgiapolicy.org (404-256-4050) Foundation ‘Disappointed’ in Supreme Court Ruling on Water Dispute Atlanta – Kyle Wingfield, president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, issued this statement in response to today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the water dispute between Florida and Georgia: The Georgia Public Policy Foundation is disappointed the Court today declined the opportunity to end this misguided legal assault on Georgia and remanded the case to the Special Master for further proceedings. We agree with Justice Clarence Thomas, in his dissent, that the Court already had all the facts it needed to make the central determination in the case: that the meager, speculative benefits Florida… View Article

Savannah Morning News Champions Teacher Pension Reform

posted 4 months ago on June 25th, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

A Savannah Morning News editorial published on June 22, 2018 warns that teacher pension reform is crucial for teachers and taxpayers. The editorial can be accessed online here and is reprinted in full below. Editorial: Reform teacher pension fund to control school taxes The tax villains ran roughshod this week, passing increases that will appear across several columns in our fall property tax bills. As is always the case, the public is assigning blame. And, as always, they point to the easy targets, the men and women who hold titles such as manager or superintendent; mayor, chairman or president; or alderman, commissioner or school board rep. The one true scoundrel in our tax chaos, who goes by the initials TRS,… View Article

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