NEWS & OPINIONS
Inflation’s Growing Problem: A warning shot for Congress
The inflation rate in July—as measured by the seasonally-adjusted Consumer Price Index (CPI)—abated somewhat from June's rate, increasing at 0.5% instead of 0.9%. But don’t cheer too much yet. This is known by economists as disinflation, not deflation. The rate came...
Why Mentoring Matters
As I write this, I can think of a handful of people who have impacted my life over the years. I consider these individuals to be mentors whether or not the relationship was a formal mentoring one, and I know I wouldn’t be the person I am without their influence. They...
U.S. House Appropriations Committee Voted to Cut Charter Schools Program Funding
Lawmakers Stifle Learning The U.S. House Appropriations Committee recently voted to cut $40 million from the federal Charter Schools Program, in addition to placing new burdensome restrictions on how charter schools operate. In response, the Georgia Center for...
The Value of Family
Importance of Family At GCO, the impact area of Family, we always need volunteers. Since we devote much of our time and efforts to family, we enjoy hearing what about family inspires people to volunteer. Eda Beacham is a current volunteer for GCO and we wanted to...
Improve Your Life with a Growth Mindset
Learning keeps you growing Most people agree that learning is important. I’m just not sure we understand how important it really is. I can still remember as a child believing that I needed to know everything or people wouldn’t think I was smart and capable. I hear...
A renewed reason to celebrate this Fourth of July
This year we celebrated our country and one of its biggest values...family. For many the Fourth of July is more than just a celebration of our country’s birth—it is an opportunity to gather with family. An opportunity to connect and celebrate together. It feels like...
GCO Testifies Before U.S. House On Benefits Cliffs
Examining the SNAP Benefit Cliff On July 12, 2021, Eric Randolph, GCO’s Director of Research, testified before the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations about how welfare programs often hurt the very people they are...
Promote Purchasing Power—Not the Minimum Wage
How to help working families the most During a focus group session on working class families we recently conducted at the Georgia Center for Opportunity, Jazmine* made an observation more perceptive than most experts. Our focus group consisted of working-class...
Gov’t. check can’t beat work’s dignity | AJC
Jobs provide dignity and purpose to people’s lives and contribute to community flourishing in ways that can’t be measured by monthly employment reports.
Help From Where You Least Expect It
“I don’t know what I’m going to do if I don’t find a better job; I might have to go back [to prison].” Two months out of prison, Ray (name changed for anonymity) was explaining to me that he had reached the end of his rope. He had been struggling to find work that...
Origins of the Georgia Center for Opportunity: Why we choose to focus on work
You’ve probably heard that if you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day—but if you teach him to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime. And while the Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) mission to alleviate poverty by removing barriers to human flourishing is grounded in...
BETTER WORK adds direct-to-business job applications
Working to more quickly connect our communities to work. In efforts to better address the needs of the unemployed in our communities, we have taken an evolving learning approach to how we support those in need. Not only are we looking to learn from those in need, but...
MEDIA MENTIONS
Opinion: Increase choice as public schools can’t meet all kids’ needs
OpEd Written by Corey Burres, VP of Communication Unedited Title: Public Schools Are At the Heart of School Choice As states like Utah and Iowa pass sweeping school choice legislation, it is important to understand no one is trying to defund public schools. The...
First House bill related to juvenile justice reform advances from committee
Kentucky’s juvenile justice system is likely to undergo some major changes before the end of the 2023 legislative session. Josh Crawford, a Louisville resident and director of criminal justice initiatives for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, said that portion of...
Who is the most impacted by violent crime? Victims Matter with Josh Crawford
For years, researchers have said that increased exposure to violent video games have had an enormous impact on our children becoming desensitized to violence. It feels like every day—whether it be on our favorite news program or as we mindlessly scroll through social...
Bill to reopen Louisville’s juvenile detention center moves ahead, but some voice concerns
A bill that would reopen Louisville's juvenile detention center amid an influx of crimes committed by young people cleared its first committee hearing Wednesday in Frankfort. House Bill 3 appropriates $8.9 million to renovate the Jefferson County Youth Detention...
Competing proposals emerge to help Kentucky’s struggling juvenile justice centers
Kentucky’s troubled juvenile justice facilities have put a call on lawmakers to act. Democrats and Republicans have put out different approaches to curb troubled youth away from crime. Before the 2023 session started, lawmakers formed a work group to investigate the...
Two Columbus-based organizations offering FREE work-training program
Better Work Columbus and Asbury United Methodist Church are working together for the second year to offer free classes designed to remove the barriers that keep many people in Columbus without a job.
School choice in 2023: 10 states to watch
Millions of American children do not receive a quality education that sets them up for success. A good education leads to opportunity, but unfortunately, it’s out of reach for so many. All Americans, regardless of political leanings, believe their children deserve an...
Proposed bill would increase Georgia’s tax credit scholarship program cap
Proposed legislation would increase the cap on the state’s tax credit scholarship program a year after lawmakers raised it The proposed measure, House Bill 54, would increase the cap from $120 million annually to $200 million per year starting in 2024. The state’s tax...
