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It’s Friday!  As the Georgia Public Policy Foundation celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2021, each Friday Facts will include a little trip down Memory Lane from our three decades of “Changing Georgia Policy, Changing Georgians’ Lives.” It’s a testament to this policy research organization’s credibility and integrity that the media have quoted, interviewed, cited and published the Foundation thousands of times across Georgia through the years. Here’s one from 1991. We’re hiring! The Foundation is adding an external affairs manager to the team. Find out more and apply here. Quotes … Continue Reading →

It’s Friday!  Happy New Year! Welcome to the first issue of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s Friday Facts for 2021. This is a special year for the Foundation: We’re celebrating our 30th anniversary!  Through the years of ‘policy over politics’ the Foundation has published hundreds of commentaries, scores of Issue Analyses and thousands of Friday Facts. Did you know? The Friday Facts started out as the Friday Fax, a weekly, members-only newsletter of tidbits shared exclusively via fax machine. This year, each Friday Facts will include a little trip down … Continue Reading →

By Kyle Wingfield Demography isn’t destiny, no matter how many people insist otherwise. Two recent reports underscored that reality. First let’s look at the big picture. This past week, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual population estimates. These estimates aren’t the same as the actual census, on which such important – and, to today’s exercise, relevant – decisions as reapportionment are based. But they are a pretty good preview of the real thing. A quick refresher: Reapportionment is how the U.S. House of Representatives’ 435 members are reallocated every … Continue Reading →

By Kyle Wingfield Has there ever been a year that better informed what the next year’s work ought to be? Perhaps, but the to-do list for Georgia in 2021 clearly takes its cues from the mercifully ending 2020. Our students should be first in line to have this year’s wrongs set right. Too many education leaders waited too long to recognize that the dangers of keeping schools closed outweighed the dangers of reopening them with proper precautions. Still more sought to use the pandemic as an excuse to shirk accountability … Continue Reading →

By Kyle Wingfield This looks to be a different kind of Christmas. Many will carry on as before, but some will choose a socially distanced Yule. Some will be forced to keep away from family or friends who have fallen ill, and others will spend their first Christmas since losing a loved one. Even the usual heart-tugging holiday ads on TV have caught on, some of them depicting a Christmas morning video call instead of a Christmas Eve embrace. Traveling recently with one of those 24/7 Christmas-song stations on the … Continue Reading →

Count down to Christmas 2020, Georgia Public Policy Foundation style! 12 Months of Insightful Commentary  We’re committed to bringing you the best, most thought-provoking commentary on the issues affecting Georgians. Read through 2020’s publications here. 11 Committed Board Members 2020 saw the Foundation add two new, valued members to our Board of Trustees. Welcome, Jay Neely and Jeb Stewart! Learn more here. 10 million (plus!) Georgians Georgia’s population is on the rise! We added lots of new friends and neighbors this year. 9th Most Populated Metro Area Atlanta is growing … Continue Reading →

 By Kyle Wingfield I don’t know what you’ve asked of Santa Claus for Christmas, but one thing ought to be on everyone’s wish list: a big dose of optimism. After the year we’ve had, a belief that brighter days lie ahead would be welcome for all. Fortunately, we needn’t wait for Dec. 25 – or for a COVID-19 vaccine. I see three big reasons to believe 2021 will be a more prosperous year for all Georgians. 1. More and more Georgians are back to work: As recently as four years … Continue Reading →

By Kyle Wingfield Americans love rankings, love to see where we stand compared to our rivals. The AP college football poll, to name one famous ranking, exists ostensibly to determine the best team – but also to sell newspapers, because Americans eat that kind of thing up. There are all kinds of rankings. But what could be more important to rank than our freedom? There are a variety of indices for that, and one of them recently showed Georgians are experiencing a golden age of economic freedom. The Fraser Institute … Continue Reading →

By: Kyle Wingfield The recent news that fall enrollment in Georgia’s public schools was down more than 2% this year was a reminder that markets exist everywhere, even where you least expect them. The October student count was the first done since the pandemic hit. Schoolhouses across the state were shuttered in March and in some places have yet to reopen. The traditional model of education was replaced by an emergency, remote learning model that most districts were poorly equipped to run. It didn’t take families long to figure out … Continue Reading →