It’s Friday!
Quotes of Note
“When you can’t afford what you’ve already got, why would you try to buy into more?” – Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, explaining why Georgia will not expand its Medicaid rolls
“The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” – Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Taylor (May 28, 1816)
“With President Obama’s reelection and his commitment to investing in infrastructure, one cannot blame the transportation community for feeling hopeful. But with the country’s budget realities and debt limit negotiations constraining the president’s ability to push for ambitious new spending programs, transportation policy is not likely to receive high priority from the Administration during Obama’s second term of office.” – Kenneth Orski
Support your Foundation
The gift that keeps on working: This holiday season, will you support the Georgia Public Policy Foundation so that we can continue to work for education choice, lower taxes and economic opportunities in Georgia? We’ve accomplished so much with your help over the past 21 years. And with your generous support, we can continue to uphold the Foundation’s motto: “Changing Georgia Policy, Changing Georgians’ Lives” … since 1991. To contribute to our mission of a better Georgia based on free markets, individual responsibility and the rule of law, please go to georgiapolicy.org/get-involved/donate/. Your contribution is tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.
Events
January 24, 2013: Just one week after attending the national Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting, Robert W. Poole will keynote, “Moving Georgia Ahead: What’s Coming Down the Pike,” an 8 a.m. Leadership Breakfast at Cobb County’s Georgian Club. Poole, a Senior Fellow at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, is a co-founder of the Reason Foundation and its director of transportation policy. He will provide an update on the outlook for transportation policy, funding and innovation amid fiscal constraints and partisan politics, and outline Georgia’s options for mobility and congestion relief. Registration is $25; register here: http://tinyurl.com/y27h3dk.
Mark your calendar: Upcoming speakers at Foundation Leadership Breakfasts include Randal O’Toole of the Cato Institute on February 19, 2013, and Yaron Brooks of the Ayn Rand Institute on March 19, 2013.
Internships
The American Enterprise Institute is accepting applications for its 2013 Summer Institute, a fully funded program that runs from June 16 to July 13 in Washington, D.C. Applications and nominations are both accepted; click here to learn more about the program, or check out this brief video about last year’s Summer Institute. Additionally, AEI is accepting applications for the 2013 summer internship program.
The Koch Internship Program is an opportunity to work for a think tank or public policy organization in Washington, D.C., and receive valuable professional education and hands-on experience. Designed for students and recent graduates who are passionate about economic freedom, the program offers a chance to develop your knowledge and skills while building a valuable professional network and understanding of non-profit career paths. Find out more at www.charleskochinstitute.org/internship-program/.
Taxes and spending
Up and away: Famed French actor and filmmaker Gerard Depardieu has reportedly taken up legal residence in a small town in Belgium, seeking good food, nice people and lower tax rates. The Socialist French government’s 2013 budget would tax top income earners at 75 percent after the first million euros of annual income. Belgium’s top tax rate is 50 percent. Source: Daily Caller
That fiscal cliff: In an editorial, Investor’s Business Daily shares some ugly truths about the “fiscal cliff” and the soak-the-rich mentality. Ultimately, “employees are going to pay all the taxes,” Euro Pacific Capital CEO Peter Schiff cautions, because “the fiscal cliff is just a small down payment on paying the piper,” the real problem being out-of-control government spending. “Those who favor soaking the rich should be prepared for what happens next,” the editorial warns: “When Democrats find they have nowhere near the cash the government demands, they, the non-rich, will get soaked, too.”
Education
EduFact: Real spending on K-12 education has more than doubled since 1970 yet scores in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) have hardly moved, according to school choice expert Patrick Wolf of the University of Arkansas. How bad is it? U.S. Department of Education statistics for the 2010-2011 school year show that only 60 percent of black students and 58 percent of Hispanic students in Georgia graduated within four years, even lower than the state’s overall 67 percent graduation rate.
Health care
Under ObamaCare, 30 million people are expected to remain uninsured. What happens to them? The new health law could make their problems worse, especially as it withdraws uncompensated care money from hospitals (on the theory that they won’t need the funds if everyone has health insurance!). There’s a better way. If people turn down the offer of a tax credit, make that credit available to safety net institutions in the areas where the uninsured live. If the uninsured can’t pay their medical bills, these funds would be there as a backstop. This is one of John Goodman’s six essential short-term health care fixes. Source: NCPA.org
Social media
This Week in The Forum: In her “Checking Up On Health” blog, Benita Dodd shares the latest on pharmaceuticals, longevity and the costs and obligations of ObamaCare. Did you know that business owners will owe the feds $63 per employee annually to help finance those with pre-existing conditions? From the Foundation for Excellence in Education conference in Washington, D.C., our Senior Fellow Eric Wearne writes about remarks from former Governor Jeb Bush, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein. Foundation Editor Mike Klein reports that Georgia would establish a two-tiered system for felonies committed by juveniles under age 18 if legislators adopt recommendations. More recent Foundation articles and posts are on The Forum at http://forum.georgiapolicy.org/category/the-forum/.
Have you seen the Foundation’s latest Quotes of Note and photos of events? They’re on Facebook! Join our 1,820 Facebook fans at facebook.com/GeorgiaPolicy for daily updates. Then join the more than 800 followers of the Foundation on Twitter at twitter.com/gppf.
Visit www.georgiapolicy.org to read the Foundation’s latest commentary, “A Child Nods to Health Reform,” by Ronald Bachman.
Have a great weekend.
Kelly McCutchen
FRIDAY FACTS is made possible by the generosity of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s donors. If you enjoy the FRIDAY FACTS, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to help advance our important mission by clicking here. Visit our Web site at www.georgiapolicy.org. Join The Forum at http://forum.georgiapolicy.org/. Become a fan of the Foundation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/gppf.
