Report ranks Georgia 14th nationally for educational freedom

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Sep 12, 2022

Report ranks Georgia 14th nationally for educational freedom

Georgia ranked 14th in the nation for its educational freedom, according to a new indexfrom the Heritage Foundation.

The Peach State ranked in the middle of its neighboring states. Georgia performed better than Alabama (No. 16), North Carolina (15) and South Carolina (23) but trailed Florida (1) and Tennessee (10).

“The Heritage Foundation Education Freedom report card shows that some progress has been made in empowering parental choice in Georgia. But there is much more that can be done,” Buzz Brockway, the vice president of public policy for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, said in a statement.

“Neighboring states like Florida and Tennessee offer their parents more options, and are higher ranked in education achievement,” Brockway added. “We owe it to our children to give their parents more options with programs like an Education Scholarship Account and continuing to increase Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship program.

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Gwinnett government departments will begin presenting 2023 budget requests on Monday

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Aug 26, 2022

Gwinnett government departments will begin presenting 2023 budget requests on Monday

Although Brockway is a newbie on the team, he is no stranger to dealing with budget requests. As a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, Brockway served on the House Appropriations committee among other committees.

Videos of each department’s business plan presentation will be made available on TVGwinnett, which is the county’s government access channel. On-demand videos of each presentation will also be available on the county’s website, www.gwinnettcounty.com

The proposed 2023 county budget that the review team will help craft will be presented to the public in November. County officials are planning to hold a hearing on Dec. 5 and the Board of Commissioners will vote on the budget at the first board meeting in January 2023.

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New economic data shows that Georgia is outperforming many states

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Aug 25, 2022

New economic data shows that Georgia is outperforming many states

Minnesota saw the best change in unemployment, while the District of Columbia reported the worst change, according to WalletHub. Nationwide, 18 states have recovered all their jobs lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, a Georgia non-profit is crediting Georgia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic for its economic standing.

“While the White House is taking credit for the job recovery, the credit really belongs to just 18 states — and Georgia is among them,” Erik Randolph, director of research for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, said in a statement. “These states are the only ones who have recovered all their jobs lost to COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.

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Georgia policy groups say Biden plan to forgive student loan debt ‘simply transfers the burden to taxpayers’

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Aug 24, 2022

Georgia policy groups say Biden plan to forgive student loan debt ‘simply transfers the burden to taxpayers’

(The Center Square) — President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive some federal student loan debt received a lukewarm reaction from some Georgia groups who say the policy is unfair and won’t help ease inflation.

“We’re disappointed to see yet another policy out of Washington that creates more problems than it solves,” Eric Cochling, the chief program officer and general counsel for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, said. “In addition to contributing to already runaway inflation, this plan from the White House doesn’t actually forgive debt, it simply transfers the burden to taxpayers.”

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Georgia experts blame federal government at least partly for state’s inflationary woes

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Jul 13, 2022

Georgia experts blame federal government at least partly for state’s inflationary woes

Georgia isn’t immune to the highest inflation in decades, and local pundits say the federal government is at least partly to blame.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 1.3% in June and 9.1% over the last 12 months. Both increases are seasonally adjusted.

Meanwhile, Erik Randolph, the Georgia Center for Opportunity’s director of research, said the country might not have even reached peak inflation, and federal lawmakers should consider a new approach to fix inflation.

“This new inflation reading ranks among the worst monthly inflation rates in U.S. history, and the worst in recent history,” Randolph said in a statement. “We have to go back to March 1980 — the last year of the [President Jimmy] Carter administration — to find a higher monthly inflation rate.

“The bottom line is that we may not have reached peak inflation, and there’s no telling how long the price level crisis will persist,” Randolph added. “Meanwhile, the rhetoric from the White House and Congress will do little to rectify the situation. There needs to be new thinking within the Washington Beltway.”

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