Government Accountability

2020’s Baggage Weighs Down 2021 Legislative Session

By Chris Denson and Kyle Wingfield

The 2021 Georgia legislative session began with a sense of uncertainty as the aftermath of November’s election and the COVID-19 pandemic carried over well into the new year.

For state legislators, this meant focusing early on…

Taxes and Spending

Don’t Let Strings on Covid Cash Make Georgia Feds’ Puppet

By Kyle Wingfield

The federal money being dumped on states is already burning a hole in some pockets. And with $4.7 billion in play, it’s an awfully big hole.

The trick for Georgia’s fiscally conservative leaders is to spend it without blowing…

Taxes and Spending

Estimated State Grants Under the Education Stabilization Fund Included in the CARES Act – CRS

Government Accountability

Sunshine Week, a Vital Disinfectant in Pandemic and Always

By Benita M. Dodd

“If the broad light of day could be let in upon men’s actions, it would purify them as the sun disinfects,” wrote Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. The statement is worth reinforcing as Sunshine Week marks its…

Regulation Reform

COVID-19: What a Difference a Year Made

By Chris Denson

One year ago this week, Georgians began to feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Georgia Public Policy Foundation shut down to begin working remotely – apropos, in hindsight – on Friday, March 13, expecting to be…

Poverty

American Institute for Full Employment

The Institute conducts leading research, studies best practices, and develops practical solutions in the areas of unemployment insurance, workforce development and public assistance.
Education

Adding up the Benefits of Education Options

By Ben Scafidi

Proposals in the Georgia General Assembly to give Georgia families more opportunities to choose schools and educational settings for their children have come under fire, including in a recent newspaper column by University of North Georgia professor T.…

Transportation

Get on Board with Buses for Equitable Transit

By Baruch Feigenbaum

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says one of his top priorities is addressing inequities such as “transit deserts,” particularly in communities of color.

It is true that communities of color often have subpar mass transit service compared to wealthier,…

Poverty

DFCS Descriptive Data

Year to year data reports from the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). The descriptive data includes information from 2009 through 2018.
Education

Chalking Up Successes in Georgia School Choice

By Benita M. Dodd

On the home front overall, the news about education options is encouraging. Georgia’s public charter schools’ enrollment increased during the COVID-19 pandemic even as enrollment in traditional public schools declined.

This week, public charter schools won back their…

Education

‘State of the State’ as Varied as Georgia’s Landscape

At his State of the State address Thursday before a joint session of the Georgia Legislature, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp soothed agencies and Georgians with a pledge that his budget would contain no cuts, no furloughs and no new taxes.
Poverty

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS)

The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) investigates reports of child abuse; finds foster and adoptive homes for abused and neglected children; issues SNAP, Medicaid and TANF; helps out-of-work parents get back on their feet; and provides numerous support services and innovative programs to help families in need.
Government Accountability

Hearing Opportunity Knock Amid Winds of Change

In one fell swoop, the outcomes of Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoffs on January 5 changed the landscape for the entire nation, at least for the next two years. 
Government Accountability

New Year, New Initiative: Policy, Transparency and News

To mark the Georgia Public Policy Foundation's upcoming 30th anniversary, the organization is renewing its push to bridge the information gap across the state.
Poverty

Georgia Department of Labor

The mission of the Georgia Department of Labor is to work with public and private partners in building a workforce system that contributes to Georgia's economic prosperity.
Education

Evidence Shows Benefits of Ga. Tax Credit Scholarship Program

The Qualified Education Expense (QEE) program saves Georgia taxpayers significant funds and displays far higher educational attainment among GOAL scholarship students relative to public school students.

Montana’s Rescue of State Health Plan Holds Lessons

Montana's plan was in severe financial trouble at the beginning of 2015, and its turnaround holds lessons for other states, including Georgia.
Poverty

Government, Poverty and Self-Reliance

The paper by Larry Reed reprinted here was originally commissioned for the inaugural conference of The
Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College in April 2005. The conference was titled “The Road From
Poverty to Freedom: A Look Backward and Forward at the War on Poverty,” and it was natural to include
Larry, a 1975 graduate of the college who majored in economics and studied under the renowned Austrian
economist Hans Sennholz.
Education

An Analysis of the Fiscal and Economic Impact of Georgia’s Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit

Georgia’s Qualified Education Expense (QEE) Tax Credit Scholarship Program allows individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a Georgia income tax credit for donating to nonprofit, tax exempt student scholarship organizations (SSOs). SSOs use these funds to provide scholarships to pre-K through 12th grade Georgia students, where these scholarships offset the cost of attending independent (private) schools.
Education

Perfect Storm: COVID World Meets Hybrid Homeschools

Eric Wearne’s latest book offers a fascinating insight into a form of schooling developing in communities throughout the United States and gaining momentum in an unexpected period of educational uncertainty.