Georgia Public Policy Foundation

Foundation News, Press Releases

News Release: Foundation Names Director of Policy and Research

News Release | For Immediate Release March 31, 2020 Contact: Benita Dodd benitadodd@georgiapolicy.org (404-256-4050) Foundation Names Director of Policy and Research Atlanta – Christopher Denson has joined the Georgia Public Policy Foundation as Director of Policy and Research. Denson brings to the Foundation nearly a decade of experience in the healthcare arena in Georgia, most recently as Director of Outreach at HCA Memorial Health, a 612-bed Level 1 trauma center serving a 32-county region in Southeast Georgia and South Carolina. Before that, he was Manager of Health Policy Consulting for Leavitt Partners … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: March 27, 2020

It’s Friday! This is the second Friday Facts edition to focus on the coronavirus pandemic gripping the nation and Georgia, and the innovative approaches to reduce its impact. View the March 20 Friday Facts here. The Foundation has compiled a list of state-focused proposals, “Near-Term Proposals as Georgia Tackles COVID-19.” Share your ideas: Email us at info@georgiapolicy.org. Quotes of Note “No society can safeguard public health for long at the cost of its overall economic health. Even America’s resources to fight a viral plague aren’t limitless – and they will … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: March 20, 2020

It’s Friday! This Friday Facts edition is a coronavirus-focused issue, in light of the unprecedented and uncertain situation in Georgia and as officials and communities work on reducing the impact of COVID-19. To share your thoughts and suggestions, please email the Georgia Public Policy Foundation at info@georgiapolicy.org. Read Kyle Wingfield’s update on Foundation operations during the coronavirus outbreak here. Quotes of Note “There is nothing like American business. This is what Adam Smith meant when he talked about ‘the invisible hand’ of the marketplace. No government agency directed these companies … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: March 13, 2020

It’s Friday! Postponed: The Foundation’s event scheduled for Wednesday (March 18) has been postponed out of an abundance of caution. “Brexit: The Good, the Bad and the Messy” will be rescheduled and take place in May instead. Registrations can be refunded or applied to the rescheduled event in May; contact Susan Benson at sbenson@georgiapolicy.org. Quotes of Note “[A] claim that health care is a right does impose obligations upon others. We see that by recognizing that there is no Santa Claus or tooth fairy who gives resources to government to … Continue Reading →

Press Releases

News Release: Legislature’s Tax Relief Efforts ‘Commendable’

News Release | For Immediate Release March 9, 2020 Contact: Benita Dodd at benitadodd@georgiapolicy.org (404-256-4050) Foundation CEO Calls Legislature’s Tax Relief Efforts ‘Commendable’ Atlanta — Georgia Public Policy Foundation President Kyle Wingfield praised the Georgia General Assembly today for continuing to work on tax relief for Georgians as the session moves toward Crossover Day on Thursday. “Georgia’s hardworking citizens and small business owners deserve to keep more of the dollars they earn. It’s commendable and encouraging that our legislators are working to keep the commitment made in 2018 legislation: to lower the income tax rate,” Wingfield … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: March 6, 2020

It’s Friday! Quotes of Note “It’s fashionable for Democrats – and, if polls are to be believed, many Republicans too – to believe that something must be done about the supposedly intolerable influence of money in American politics. Indeed, there is a lot of money in American politics, as the ongoing Democratic primary (and every election in recent memory) makes clear. But after Super Tuesday, it seems clear that candidates cannot buy their way into the White House.” – Eric Boehm “There is no doubt that we are seeing significant … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: February 28, 2020

It’s Friday! Quotes of Note “Overall, the evidence indicates that occupational licensing limits workers’ ability to enter professions or move to new areas with greater opportunity.” – Council of Economic Advisors “Our dangers, as it seems to me, are not from the outrageous but from the conforming; not from those who rarely and under the lurid glare of obloquy upset our moral complaisance, or shock us with unaccustomed conduct, but from those, the mass of us, who take their virtues and their tastes, like their shirts and their furniture, from … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: February 21, 2020

It’s Friday! Quotes of Note “How much pain they have cost us, the evils which have never happened.” – Thomas Jefferson “I would rather a dollar be in your pocket or my pocket for us to spend the way we want it to than us as a state be taking it and trying to spend it differently.” – Terry England, Georgia House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee chairman “Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.” – Calvin Coolidge Events March 18: “Brexit: The Good, the Bad and the … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: February 14, 2020

It’s Friday! Events Mark your calendars: March 18: “Brexit: The Good, the Bad and the Messy,” a noon Policy Briefing Luncheon focusing on the United Kingdom at the end of nearly a half-century of European Union membership. Join Andrew Staunton, British Consul-General in Atlanta, and Zilvinas Silenas, President of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) and former President of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, for a discussion moderated by Georgia Public Policy Foundation President Kyle Wingfield. Wingfield was a Brussels-based correspondent for The Wall Street Journal before moving to Atlanta. … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: February 7, 2020

It’s Friday! For the third consecutive year, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation has been named one of the world’s “Best Independent Think Tanks!” In a survey released last week, the Foundation and the Texas Public Policy Foundation – a sister think tank in the State Policy Network – were the only U.S. state-based free-market think tanks ranked as “Best Independent Think Tanks” in the 2019 Global Go-To Think Tank Index Report by the University of Pennsylvania’s Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program. Read the news release here. Were you at … Continue Reading →

Foundation News, News, Press Releases

News Release: Foundation Named to Global ‘Best Independent Think Tanks’ List

News Release | For Immediate Release January 31, 2020 Contact: Benita Dodd at benitadodd@georgiapolicy.org (404-256-4050) Foundation Named to Global ‘Best Independent Think Tanks’ List Atlanta – The Georgia Public Policy Foundation has been named one of the world’s “Best Independent Think Tanks” of 2019 in a survey released this week by the University of Pennsylvania’s Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program. The Foundation and the Texas Public Policy Foundation – a sister think tank in the State Policy Network – are the only U.S. state-based free-market think tanks ranked as “Best Independent … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: January 31, 2020

It’s Friday! About 300 friends and supporters joined us Tuesday night at the Fabulous Fox in Atlanta for the Foundation’s 29th Anniversary Celebration and Freedom Award Dinner. The keynote speaker was John A. Allison, board member and former CEO of the Cato Institute and the retired chairman and CEO of BB&T Corp. (recently renamed Truist). Through the years, the Foundation has presented the prestigious Freedom Award to a notable Georgian who has exemplified the principles of private enterprise and personal integrity. The 2019 recipient, honored at the event, is Sunny K. Park, “CEJ” … Continue Reading →

Foundation News

News Release: 300 Join in Foundation’s 29th Anniversary Celebration

NEWS RELEASE | For Immediate Release January 29, 2020 Contact: Benita Dodd benitadodd@georgiapolicy.org (404-256-4050) 300 Join in Foundation’s 29th Anniversary Celebration Atlanta – More than 300 friends and supporters joined the Georgia Public Policy Foundation at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta Tuesday night (January 28) for the Foundation’s 29th Anniversary Celebration and Freedom Award Dinner. The keynote speaker was John A. Allison, board member and former CEO of the Cato Institute and the retired chairman and CEO of BB&T Corp. (recently renamed Truist). Through the years, the Foundation has presented the prestigious Freedom Award to a notable Georgian … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: January 24, 2020

It’s Friday! Quotes of Note “When I was studying economics in college in the 1970s, the professors and the textbooks instructed us that an unemployment rate of about 4% was ‘full employment.’ Can’t go any lower than that. How good is the job picture today? We now have an unemployment rate a half a percentage point below full employment. So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how does this job market rate? It’s an 11!” – Stephen Moore “Medicaid expansion sounds like a great deal, but in the end … Continue Reading →

Taxes & Spending

No Reason to Call Off the Tax Cut Promised to Georgians

By Kyle Wingfield Call it the Tale of the Uber Driver and the Farmer. No, they aren’t walking into a bar together or running an endurance race with a moral at the end. But they do offer a likely explanation for why Georgia’s tax revenues are lagging – and why legislators writing the budget need not lose too much sleep, or their nerve. Start with the Uber Driver, shorthand for anyone who has taken up working in the gig economy. Most rideshare drivers I’ve met have a similar story: They … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: January 17, 2020

It’s Friday! January 28: The Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s 29th Anniversary Celebration and Freedom Award Dinner is almost here! The deadline to purchase tickets is Wednesday, January 22. Join the celebration in the Egyptian Ballroom at the fabulous Fox Theatre on Tuesday, January 28. The keynote speaker is John A. Allison, retired CEO of BB&T and the Cato Institute. The Foundation’s prestigious Freedom Award will be presented to Sunny K. Park, philanthropist, businessman, motivational speaker and a great Georgian. Find more information here; contact Kennedy@georgiapolicy.org for sponsorship information. Quotes of Note “Let’s face … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: January 10, 2020

It’s Friday! January 28: We’re just 18 days away from the Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s 29th Anniversary Celebration and Freedom Award Dinner on January 28! Join us in the Egyptian Ballroom at the fabulous Fox Theatre on Tuesday, January 28. The keynote speaker is John A. Allison, retired CEO of BB&T and the Cato Institute. The Foundation’s prestigious Freedom Award will be presented to Sunny K. Park, philanthropist, businessman, motivational speaker and a great Georgian. Find more information here; contact Kennedy@georgiapolicy.org for sponsorship information. Quotes of Note “Why did Americans stop trusting their … Continue Reading →

Foundation News

2019 Georgia Legislative Policy Forum (with video links to sessions)

Click on the links below for YouTube video of sessions.

Friday Facts

Friday Facts: January 3, 2020

It’s Friday! Quotes of Note “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” – Thomas Jefferson “Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” – Benjamin Franklin “It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent.” – W. Somerset Maugham News and events January 28: Have you received your personal invitation? The Georgia Public Policy Foundation celebrates … Continue Reading →

Friday Facts

Georgia Public Policy Foundation Friday Facts: December 20, 2019

It’s Friday! News and events January 28, 2020: The Georgia Public Policy Foundation celebrates 29 years of policy over politics with an Anniversary Celebration and Freedom Award Dinner in the Egyptian Ballroom at the fabulous Fox Theatre on Tuesday, January 28! The keynote speaker is John A. Allison, retired CEO of BB&T and the Cato Institute. The Foundation’s prestigious Freedom Award will be presented to Sunny K. Park. Find more information here; contact Kennedy@georgiapolicy.org for sponsorship information. January 23, 2020: The Conservative Policy Leadership Institute hosts its annual Legacy Dinner … Continue Reading →