The original goal was for GEFA to be the lender of last resort for local governments with less than perfect credit ratings and lack of access to the private financial markets. Since its inception, however, GEFA rapidly surpassed its original mission.
There are good policies worth pursuing that will enhance accountability for law enforcement and judicial systems while respecting the difficult nature of the work required of these positions.
It is hard to be a young black male in the United States today. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for African-American men between 16 and 24 is 30.5%. That rate is more than twice what it is for whites in the same age group.
The COVID-19 pandemic bears a striking resemblance to the Spanish flu epidemic that peaked in October 1918.
Many of the executive orders Gov. Brian Kemp signed during the pandemic suspended or altered regulations only during the public health state of emergency. Having operated without them since the middle of March, it makes sense to consider how many are even necessary any longer.
What barriers do America’s poor face in moving up and out of poverty, and what proven principles should inform our policies for the poor?
Congress should revisit the hastily enacted $600 supplemental unemployment benefit.
Dedicate Georgia’s Early Intervention Program (EIP) funds to EIP services and require all local systems to follow state guidelines when classifying students as EIP.
The Georgia Rail Passenger Program consists of a comprehensive plan for two distinct kinds of rail transportation: commuter and intercity trains, and proposed high-speed rail systems.
If the Georgia Legislature does nothing, state and local taxpayers will be on the hook for at least $142 million to educate 17,000 more children in public schools in upcoming years, in addition to all the increased needs of unemployed Georgians.
Kemp always insisted the strictest measures on Georgians had to last only as long as necessary and no longer. The data indicate that Georgia has flattened the curve, meaning new cases are developing at a slow enough pace its healthcare providers and resources can handle them.
GRTA is a state-level authority that addresses mobility and air quality in metro Atlanta. GRTA approves the allocation of state and federal transportation resources in metro Atlanta via the Atlanta Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), the federally-required planning process that allocates funds to the highest-priority, near-term transportation projects.
Although some new federal funding flowing into Georgia could offset revenue losses, it remains to be seen how much will remain available after additional expenses are covered.
Only three states were still projected as of April 22 to experience a hospital-bed shortage, according to the oft-cited model by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. All are expansion states in the Northeast.
The US DOT and FTA seek new ways to design and operate high capacity Bus Rapid Transit systems as an alternative to building Light Rail systems that often prove to be more expensive and less effective and solving congestion.
If anything, the current fiscal distress facing the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia highlights the need for a comprehensive approach to adjusting TRS assumptions, funding policy, and plan design elements.
In the coming weeks, the Foundation will release a series of policy briefs proposing specific “mid-term” responses as the state continues to tackle coronavirus and its aftermath. It has become clear, however, that even great ideas and good intentions require evidence they are being executed, and that they are being implemented in the spirit in which they were intended.
For years, the U.S. public transit industry has exhibited a clear preference for light rail systems even where bus systems could perform more effectively and at lower cost.
While everyone hopes to return to “normal” as soon as possible, the possibility certainly exists that come fall, the coronavirus will return.
The Foundation marshaled its Senior Fellows and colleagues around the nation and compiled a list of policies that could be implemented quickly to ease the burden on providers, educators, businesses and families as the pandemic continues.
