Oklahoma’s History with Income Tax Cuts: A Story of Growth
Oklahoma saw an increase, both in economic activity and tax revenues, with each of the income tax cuts implemented between 2004 and 2009.
Hundreds Lose Their Georgia Tax Credit Scholarships
Hundreds of Georgia students who received tax credit scholarships last year will receive either reduced help or no help this year. By Foundation Editor Mike Klein.
At a Crossroads, Kaiser Permanente Georgia Changed Course
By Mike Klein
Mike Klein, Editor, Georgia Public Policy Foundation
Kaiser Permanente in Georgia found itself at a crossroads four years ago. The popular health services and insurance provider was being phased out as a state government employees option, affecting…
The Economics and Politics of Tax Reform
Economists generally agree that revenues from this simpler tax structure would grow faster than our current tax system.
Heartland Institute Urges Georgia to Address CON Reform
Georgia is one of 35 states that institute certificate of need (CON) laws. First passed in the 1960s to deter increasing health care costs, CON laws were supposed to limit duplication and promote health care consolidation. In essence, CON programs require health care providers to receive state approval to increase facilities and services.
GA Education Bill Could Create More Charter Opportunity
Georgia charter school issues have been relatively quiet during the current General Assembly but that could change soon. House legislation that passed the Education Committee last week would improve the chances for successful charter schools to replicate their models. By Foundation Editor Mike Klein
Guide to the Issues: Medical Malpractice
Principles:
Medical malpractice reforms should accomplish the following goals:
Reduce the rates of preventable patient injuries. Promote open communication between physicians and patients. Ensure patients have access to fair compensation for legitimate medical injuries. Reduce liability insurance premiums for health care providers.Recommendation:
Replace Georgia’s current expensive and ineffective malpractice system with… Mugged by Reality
Eight Lessons We've Learned About the Epidemic of Crime and What to Do About it
Removing the Political Shortage of Water
By H. Sterling Burnett and Ross Wingo
About 82 percent of Americans receive drinking water via publicly owned water systems, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Many of these municipal and regional systems operate at a loss, meaning…
Permit Transfers Hold Water For Georgia
By Benita Dodd
It may seem that Georgia’s water problems are Atlanta’s alone, but the state’s economic engine is hardly alone in its concerns about water quality or quantity.
Rincon, in Effingham County, is withdrawing more groundwater than allotted, but the…
Outlaw Policing for Profit in Georgia
Seizing the property of individuals who have not been convicted, let alone indicted, is a travesty of justice
Don't Let Scare Tactics Scuttle Pro-Growth Tax Reform
It's a pleasant surprise to see the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute oppose a tax increase
Reason Foundation Lists ObamaCare's Troubled State Exchanges
The federal government spent more on broken state-run exchanges than it did on its own troubled system. Of the 14 states, plus the District of Columbia, that established their own health insurance coverage under Obamacare, seven remain dysfunctional, disabled, or…
Missing From the Tax Debate: Spending
By Kelly McCutchen
Like love and marriage, tax and spending go together like the proverbial horse and carriage. Absent spending controls, any major “reform” proposal in Georgia’s tax code – particularly a shift in revenues among different levels of government…
For Water Conservation, Pricing Trumps Prohibition
By Benita Dodd
Within the next few months, Georgians across the state will never again be able to water more than three days a week. State officials, working to foster a culture of conservation, called it “a very big step” for…
Clean Water Markets: A Policy Option for Georgia
By Kristin Rowles
Given a choice between two equivalent solutions to a problem, the rational choice is to select the least expensive option. Water quality trading, a hot topic around the nation, offers the regulated community this type of choice.
Traditional water…
Facts Not Fear on Air Pollution
By Joel Schwartz
Air pollution has been declining for decades across the United States, yet most Americans still believe air pollution is a growing problem and a serious threat to their health. The reason: Most information on air pollution from environmentalists,…
Reforming Medicaid with Technology
Integrating health IT into Medicaid could actually address many of the challenges faced by the Medicaid population.
GEFA: Paring Back Mission Creep Could Yield State Half a Billion Dollars
By Kelly McCutchen
As state government faces falling tax revenues, it is critical to identify core government functions, prioritize those services and reduce spending on other lower priority programs. The Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) is a perfect example of a…
What Does Transit ‘Access to Jobs’ Actually Measure?
A recent study, “Access Across America: Transit 2017,” by Andrew Owen and Brendan Murphy of the University of Minnesota, claims that accessibility to jobs by transit increased between 2016 and 2017.
