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Friday Facts: July 7, 2017

posted 2 years ago on July 7th, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

It’s Friday! Quotes of note “There is a place for government in the affairs of men, and our Declaration of Independence tells us precisely what that place is. The role of government is to protect individuals in their God-given individual rights. Freedom is the natural birthright of man, but all that government can do in behalf of freedom is to let the individual alone, and it should secure him in his rights by making others let him alone.” – Rev. Edmund A. Opitz “Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we … View Article

Friday Facts: April 21, 2017

posted 2 years ago on April 21st, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

It’s Friday! Quotes of note Tax Day: “Countries, therefore, when lawmaking falls exclusively to the lot of the poor cannot hope for much economy in public expenditure; expenses will always be considerable, either because taxes cannot touch those who vote for them or because they are assessed in a way to prevent that.” – Alexis de Tocqueville Election Day: “An election is coming. Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry.” – George Eliot Earth Day: “Expect more craziness this weekend. Earth Day is Saturday. This year’s theme: Government must ‘do more’ about climate change because ‘consequences of inaction are too high to risk.’” – John Stossel… View Article

AJC Publishes Op-Ed on Atlanta, MARTA TSPLOSTs

posted 2 years ago on April 3rd, 2017 by admin 2 Comments

The Sunday edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on April 2, 2017, published an op-ed by Foundation Vice President Benita Dodd on the new transportation special purpose local option sales taxes for MARTA and Atlanta. Her op-ed is published in its entirety below; the AJC link is here: http://www.myajc.com/news/opinion/opinion-look-future-not-past-gain-most-from-atl-splost/5h0CTF5gG9cK2ppp2ZRL4O/. OPINION: Look to future, not past, to gain most from ATL T-SPLOST By Benita Dodd April marks the full implementation of two transportation special-purpose local option sales taxes (TSPLOSTs) overwhelmingly passed by Atlanta voters in November 2016. A 0.4-cent, five-year Atlanta TSPLOST to raise $300 million has joined the 0.5-cent, 40-year TSPLOST begun in March to raise $2.6 billion for MARTA projects. The massive support is no surprise, given lofty campaign promises… View Article

March 23 Event: “Capitol Insight,” with Lynn Westmoreland

posted 2 years ago on March 23rd, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

March 23 Event: “Capitol Insight,” with Lynn Westmoreland Atlanta – You are invited to join the Georgia Public Policy Foundation on Thursday, March 23 for, “Capitol Insight,” an 8 a.m. Leadership Breakfast at Cobb County’s Georgian Club keynoted by six-term Georgia Congressman Lynn Westmoreland. Westmoreland knows what is it is to sign the front of a paycheck: He’s an entrepreneur who ran his own building company, L.A.W. Builders, while serving 12 years in the Georgia House of Representatives. His hard work and dedication as a champion of lower taxes and smaller government is credited as one of the major reasons the Republican Party was able to win the majority in the Georgia State House for the first time.… View Article

How States Can Break the Health Care Logjam

posted 2 years ago on March 17th, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

By Kelly McCutchen In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, January 22 a tornado, one of 40 over two days in Georgia, ripped through the tiny South Georgia town of Adel. Seven people died; the wounded were treated at the local hospital five minutes away. Just three days earlier, that local hospital had announced it would close its emergency room – the only ER in Cook County – at the end of February. Cook Medical Center is hemorrhaging about $2.6 million a year, mostly due to the emergency room. Tift Regional Medical Center plans to offer expanded hours at a non-emergency medical clinic in Adel while shifting emergency services to its hospital in Tifton, 24 miles away. Plans are in the… View Article

Expand Retirement Options, Shrink Teacher Doldrums

posted 2 years ago on February 1st, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

This commentary appeared in the February 1, 2017, edition of The Marietta Daily Journal. By Benita M. Dodd PAGE, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, has surveyed its members and the findings, reported in its January/February 2017 newsletter (PAGE One), are depressing. The survey found that nearly half of teachers (45 percent) say they are unlikely to remain in education for the next 10 years. Sadly, a majority – 53 percent – also said they would not recommend a career in education. The report notes, “With the current teacher shortage and continuing teacher pipeline issues, these statistics are of great concern to PAGE.” The survey also found that 59 percent of the respondents oppose converting the Teacher Retirement System from… View Article

New Study Finds Georgia Underreports Public School Spending

posted 2 years ago on January 26th, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

GEORGIA PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release January 26, 2017 Contact: Benita Dodd benitadodd@georgiapolicy.org | (404) 256-4050 New Study Finds Georgia Underreports Public School Spending Atlanta – For decades, Georgia’s Department of Education has underreported by billions of dollars what the state spends on public schools, according to an Issue Analysis released today at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s annual National School Choice Week event. The report, “Balancing the Books in Education,” by Foundation Senior Fellow and Kennesaw State University economist Dr. Benjamin Scafidi, notes that official state websites give the impression that taxpayers spend billions of dollars less on K-12 public education than is actually spent. For example, while the Georgia Department of Education website… View Article

Foundation Joins Coalition Asking U.S. Supreme Court to Protect Free Speech

posted 2 years ago on January 11th, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

NEWS RELEASE: For Immediate Release January 11, 2017 Contact Benita Dodd at 404-256-4050 or benitadodd@georgiapolicy.org State Think Tanks Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Protect Free Speech Atlanta – The Georgia Public Policy Foundation has joined a coalition of 24 state-based think tanks around the nation to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the names of donors to nonprofit organizations. The coalition supports an amicus brief filed Tuesday by the Buckeye Institute of Ohio in the case of Independence Institute v. Federal Elections Commission. The coalition believes it is unconstitutional for the federal government to compel the Independence Institute of Colorado to provide its donor list and is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a district court decision supporting… View Article

Friday Facts: December 2, 2016

posted 2 years ago on December 2nd, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

It’s Friday! Events Did you attend our 25th Anniversary Celebration Dinner and Freedom Award on November 11? Click here to view photographs from the event! December 8: The deadline is Tuesday to register for “Saving Our Students: Georgia’s Education Policy Options,” the Foundation’s Leadership Breakfast on December 8. The speakers are Erin Hames, former policy adviser to Gov. Nathan Deal, and outgoing Georgia State Rep. Mike Dudgeon, a member of the Georgia Education Reform Commission. Cobb County’s Georgian Club, 8 a.m. $30. Register here. December 13: Limited government is not possible without a thriving private and nonprofit sector. Learn about social enterprise, impact investing and venture philanthropy at a free seminar hosted by HINRI, Cherry… View Article

Friday Facts: October 7, 2016

posted 2 years ago on October 7th, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

It’s Friday! Hurricane Matthew State of emergency: As Hurricane Matthew approached the East Coast, Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency in 13 Georgia coastal and rural counties. Mandatory evacuations were ordered in the coastal counties of Bryan, Chatham, Liberty, McIntosh, Glynn and Camden. As you consider volunteering or contributing to relief efforts, be wary of scammers preying on your emotions and bank account. Vet requests carefully at charitynavigator.org and use reputable organizations. Snooze you lose: A poll by the Insurance Information Institute shows that only 12 percent of Americans had a flood insurance policy in 2016, down from 14 percent in 2015. There’s a 30-day “prior requirement” before a storm to get coverage. A 2015… View Article