Friday Facts: June 19, 2026

It’s just good manners to clean up when company’s coming. 

The 23rd FIFA World Cup is an interesting backdrop for the United States’ 250th birthday. Soccer fans from around the world have descended upon America’s gas stations, chain restaurants and even such backwoods haunts as Jordan-Hare Stadium. They marvel, wide-eyed, at central air conditioning, free chips and salsa, the hunting section at Walmart and a number of other hallmarks of American cultural power.

Our guests’ experiences may offer some perspective on what we take for granted, but some Americans have taken a more cynical view of how much effort has gone into rolling out the proverbial red carpet, particularly in Atlanta.

We discuss this issue in this week’s commentary.

– Kyle Wingfield

Friday’s Freshest 🗞️

To understand a hidden flaw in America’s Social Security system, it helps to start halfway around the world, with an unusual South Korean rental arrangement that makes a normally invisible cost impossible to ignore. Once that cost is in plain view, the same logic reveals what U.S. workers quietly give up over a lifetime of payroll taxes: hundreds of thousands of dollars in forgone investment growth they’re never prompted to notice.

If school choice advocates want these programs to last, they should demand better outcome reporting. The current, scattered state of outcome reporting across the country is not sufficient to judge the success of universal eligibility, but there are a number of valuable pieces already available.

Elections to the Supreme Court of Georgia have been nonpartisan since 1983, when the judicial system was modernized during an overhaul of the state constitution. Yet this year’s race bore all the hallmarks of a partisan battle, complete with high-profile endorsements from former President Barack Obama on one side and Governor Brian Kemp on the other.

Gov. Kemp signed legislation to streamline Georgia’s building permit process.Senate Bill 447, authored by Sen. Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett), is designed to tighten Georgia’s existing 45-day timeframe for local governments to review building permit applications and to create clear application criteria for all parties involved, local governments and developers alike.

Peach Picks 🍑

Georgia continues to build its reputation as one of the South’s economic powerhouses, landing in the top 15 in a new national ranking of state economies. According to WalletHub’s 2026 Best & Worst State Economies report, which evaluated all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 metrics, Georgia ranks 12th overall.

Just hours before Georgia lawmakers were set to go into special session on Wednesday to redraw the state’s congressional districts, House Speaker Jon Burns said it will not be on the agenda. “Changes to Georgia’s maps should take place only when members of the General Assembly and citizens have been given ample opportunity to gather the facts, provide input and engage in meaningful discussion,” Burns said.

To honor their service, Meta is proud to donate Ray-Ban Meta glasses to every blind veteran in America. This program, inspired by U.S. Army veteran Don Overton, is completely free for veterans, giving them transformative AI technology so they can read documents, navigate their surroundings and live more independently. Meta and its partners will provide hands-on training with every pair, teaming up with the Blinded Veterans Association to make sure every veteran feels confident using the technology.

Gov. Kemp applauded Lockheed Martin’s positive economic impact over its 75 years of continuous operations in Marietta. Gov. Kemp joined company officials in celebrating the occasion alongside other state, local, and federal leaders at Lockheed Martin’s Cobb County manufacturing facility, which supports more than 5,600 Georgia jobs. 

The chance to see elite soccer played at home is nice and all, but Atlanta leaders say the true legacy of the World Cup will take place off the pitch. That’s a bit difficult to see after the biggest headline so far in the World Cup took place in Atlanta’s stadium: a shocking draw between overwhelming favorite Spain and debutante Cape Verde.

In the Media 🎤

The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) recently republished “The Hidden Price of Social Security” by our own Athan Clark. The piece uses South Korea’s unique housing-deposit system as a clever analogy for the real cost hidden in America’s Social Security program.

Featured Video 🎥

In this video, we explain why Georgia’s physician shortage persists, how the current licensing system created an unnecessary bottleneck, and what the new Senate Bill 427 changes.

Quote of the Week 🌟

“One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” This line gets at one of the most important principles in public policy: good intentions are not enough. Nearly every program promises to solve a problem, help families or make life fairer. But the real test is whether it actually works — and whether the benefits justify the costs imposed on taxpayers, workers and businesses.

For Georgia, that means asking hard questions before expanding government’s reach. Does a proposed policy improve opportunity, safety or prosperity? Does it leave families with more freedom to make their own decisions? Does it produce measurable results, or merely create another layer of bureaucracy?

A policy can sound compassionate and still make housing more expensive, work less rewarding or schools less accountable. Likewise, reforms that emphasize competition, transparency and limited government may be less flashy, but they often do more to improve lives over time.

That standard matters whenever lawmakers debate spending, regulation, education, health care or taxes. The goal is not to judge policymakers by rhetoric, but to judge policy by outcomes.