by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Sep 13, 2019
More job opportunities for the poor could be the solution for poverty in Georgia, a free-market solutions advocate says.
Georgia’s workforce and economy have shown promising growth, but new numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau show poverty has declined in the state but still sits high above the national level.
“This shows that there is much more to be done to address poverty here in Georgia,” Corey Burres, spokesperson for the nonprofit Georgia Center for Opportunity, said.
According to the Census report released this week, the average number of people living in poverty in the state has decreased by 2.8 percent over 2015-2016 and 2017-2018. The overall rate for the country dropped by 1.1 percent. Yet, the percentage of poor Georgians is 2.4 more than the national average, which is 12.3 percent.
Burres said one way to curb poverty in Georgia is to create more job opportunities in the impoverished areas of the state.
Based on the Census Bureau’s three-year estimates, there is an average of 1,522,000 people in Georgia living in poverty.
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by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Aug 28, 2019
Some of the newest students at Georgia Piedmont Technical College reside in a high-rise less than two miles away. But the towering building is not one of luxury.
It is the DeKalb County jail, and these nine inmates are the first to participate in a job training initiative to make sure they never return…
Eric Cochling, executive vice president and general counsel of the Georgia Center for Opportunity, applauded the initiative.
Cochling’s organization is a non-profit think tank that has focused on making it easier for ex-offenders to re-enter the workforce. It notes that roughly half-a-million Georgians are either incarcerated or under parole or probation and there are millions more with criminal records that could make it difficult to get jobs.
“If you truly want to help returning citizens avoid recidivism, the best thing you can do is training them for work they can do immediately,” Cochling said.
He said that recidivism drops by two-thirds when a person can find and keep a job for at least six months after leaving jail or prison. “There is really no other intervention that has that kind of impact.”
The idea that they’re trying to give practical skills that are in demand in the market, that is exactly the kind of thinking that we need across the board when we think about the men and women who are coming out of prison and even jail,” Cochling said.
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by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Aug 9, 2019
State agency officials in Georgia will have until Sept. 6 to come up with a plan to cut spending by 4 percent in 2020 and by 6 percent in 2021.
Gov. Brian Kemp has instructed agency heads to submit amended budget proposals that reflect the cuts along with their 2021 budget proposals….
Corey Burres, spokesperson for the nonprofit, free market Georgia Center for Opportunity, said it is possible that the tax revenues could decrease or stay flat in future months.
Tax revenues peaked in June 2018 when they finished up by 7 percent, nearly $146 million. But May’s revenue saw a 0.1 percent increase ($1 million) over May 2018.
Burres said there’s also concern over the scaling back of federal support for state programs “in the near future.”
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by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Jul 18, 2019
Today, the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) has released two new reports detailing precisely how the Georgia governor and lawmakers should enact federal healthcare waivers that will reform a healthcare system disproportionately impacting the poor.
In What Does an Ideal Solution to the Health Insurance Crisis Look Like? Principles for Policymakers When Crafting a Federal Waiver Application, GCO scholar Erik Randolph describes the ways that Georgia lawmakers can craft a healthcare system that works for everyone, particularly the most vulnerable. And in What Census Microdata Tells Us About Health Insurance Coverage in Georgia, Randolph delves into some lesser known facts about the healthcare system in Georgia in order to better help lawmakers craft a system that helps those in poverty and boosts economic mobility.
Randy Hicks, GCO’s President and CEO, said the new reports come at a crucial time for healthcare reform in Georgia. “Due to a federal waiver application process approved by the Trump Administration, Georgia has a narrow window of opportunity to innovate at the local level to solve the healthcare crisis,” Hicks said. “More than 13 percent of Georgians still lack health insurance, and the cost of insurance in the individual markets have more than doubled since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. We need a real solution to this crisis. This report lays the groundwork.”
The reports recommend the creation of a consumer-directed market system coupled with a reformed safety-net program. Key recommendations include:
- Freedom and portability:Just like with other insurances, consumers want the leeway to shop for health insurance on their own terms and to not lose their plan when leaving a job. This solution drives down costs and keeps affordable health coverage long after they leave employment.
- Affordability: There is a simple reason why 13.3 percent of Georgians lack any health insurance: affordability. As demonstrated by systems in Switzerland and the Netherlands, the solution is to achieve universal coverage. GCO’s healthcare proposals will create a market-driven program with safety-net subsidies, leading to universal coverage. Pricing will be transparent and consumers will easily shop for the best values.
- A unified system: The current healthcare system is a fragmented hodgepodge of programs—Medicaid, PeachCare, Medicare, TriCare, VA services, and government-run exchanges. Contrary to this confusing system, GCO reforms would create a single program with government subsidies for low-income families that eliminate welfare cliffs and marriage penalties.
- The safety net: The system still provides a vital safety net for those who aren’t able to afford health insurance on their own. Subsidies are provided through the Georgia Gateway to help low-income families pay their premiums.
by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Oct 15, 2018
The mandate from Georgia voters is clear—by an overwhelming margin, they want lawmakers in the General Assembly to pass legislation expanding school choice in 2019. That’s the finding of a new poll released by the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO).
The survey found that nearly seven-in-ten (67 percent) voters say it’s important for the state legislature to enact policies that expand school choice in the next legislative session, and that support extends across party, racial, and geographic lines. Of all school choice measures available in Georgia, the Tax Credit Scholarship Program garnered the most support.
Underscoring the bipartisan nature of school choice, the survey found strong support for school choice regardless of political affiliation—75 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of Independents, and 62 percent of Democrats. Support is strong across racial and geographic lines as well: 70 percent of African-American voters and 66 percent of white voters support school choice, while voters in Augusta (76 percent), Atlanta (68 percent), and Savannah (65 percent) are also supportive.
These new survey results come on the heels of the General Assembly’s move this year to expand the Tax Credit Scholarship Program to serve tens of thousands of additional students in need of options. In 2019, lawmakers could take up legislation to make Georgia the seventh state to enact Education Savings Accounts, an innovative way for parents to pay for the education their children need.
With the 2019 session of the General Assembly a few months away, elected officials would be wise to pay attention to the voices of more than two-thirds of Georgia’s likely voters—and voice their support for school choice, too!
