NEWS & OPINIONS
Drive-Thru Job Fair Comes to Gwinnett
Drive-Thru Job Fair Comes to Gwinnett The current pandemic has made a massive impact on America’s workforce and wreaked havoc on certain business sectors. While we’re beginning to see a dip in the number of active COVID-19 cases around the country, parts of the...
Get Buzz’d At the state Capitol
A focus on the state legislature and the policies effecting Georgian's everyday life. Buzz Brockway, VP of Policy, is in downtown Atlanta at the state Capitol building, and walks us through the proposed changes to The Special Needs Scholarship,...
Many Special Needs Students Have Struggled with Virtual Classes
For some students virtual classes during the past year have been fine. Some have even thrived. But for many special needs students, it has not gone well, as a parent tells the Georgia Center for Opportunity: A virtual classroom worked fine for Jennifer’s two older...
Buzz Brockway is a Guest on the Erick Erickson Show | WSB 95.5
On March 4, 2021 Buzz Brockway, VP of Policy, was a featured guest on WSB 99.5's Erick Erickson Show to discuss legislation (HB 60) that would allow parents and students more education options. Unfortunately, HB 60 will not come to fruition this year, but we're not...
Key GCO priority bills make crossover deadline
The Georgia legislative session is halfway over, and already we’ve made some important progress in breaking down barriers to work and expanding opportunity for all Georgians. We reached a key legislative mark on March 8: The crossover deadline. That means that any...
Benefiting Low-Wage Workers without Minimum Wage Laws
Strategies to help everyone If it is a bad idea to raise the minimum wage, or even have a minimum wage law to begin with, where does this leave the low-wage worker? We already examined the empirical evidence showing that minimum wage laws reduce employment among the...
Why the Minimum Wage is Bad News for Small Business
Why that’s bad for everyone else, and how raising costs can have disastrous economic consequences. In a prior blog, I explained how empirical research supports the side of the debate asserting negative consequences due to minimum wage laws. Now we’ll look under the...
Magnifying Positivity
Maginifying Positivity My husband and I only had her in our care for two-weeks. She is a seven-year-old full of spunk and sass at the same time! We adore that about her and looked forward to providing some stability and positivity in her life for the time she spent...
Let’s Take Politics Out of Healthcare
The federal government’s surprise move against Georgia In a raw political move, the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) removed the approval of Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage, labeling the program as “pending.” Despite the fact that the COVID-19...
Reflections of a Newlywed
Reflections of a Newlywed: Lessons Learned From One Year Of Marriage A little more than a year ago you all reached out to my husband, Harold, and me on our exciting new journey as a married couple. We are so grateful for all of the wisdom that you shared with us....
Is it time for voting rights reform for felons?
Coming off the contentious 2020 election, the issue of voting rights has been in the news lately. That is likely why, this year, there is a renewed push among some lawmakers in the Georgia legislature to reform voting-rights laws for those convicted of a felony. This...
Does the Minimum Wage Hurt or Help the Poor?
What economic research really tells us Finally, we have the definitive answer on a longstanding debate on whether empirical studies show that minimum wage laws negatively impact employment. You may have heard conflicting summaries, perhaps from economists themselves,...
MEDIA MENTIONS
Kentucky’s Juvenile Justice System
Renee Shaw and guests discuss Kentucky's juvenile justice system. Guests: State Sen. Whitney Westerfield (R-Fruit Hill); State Rep. Jason Nemes (R-Louisville); State Rep. Nima Kulkarni (D-Louisville); State Rep. Keturah Herron (D-Louisville); Terry Brooks, executive...
‘A Violent Start To The Year’: Murders Are Already Soaring In These Six Major Cities
Spates of deadly violence impacted several U.S. cities to start 2023, outpacing the same period in 2022, and experts variously called for proper police funding, community trust-building efforts and investment in at-risk youth in response.
School choice legislation is likely from Georgia lawmakers this session
Georgia lawmakers are almost certain to discuss school funding and even school choice legislation during this year’s legislative session. "Parents are demanding more options in education, spurred on by the seismic changes we’ve seen in K-12 schools during the...
Nonprofit says Georgians are still hurting from inflation
While the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers dropped 0.1% in December and the year-over-year inflation rate stands at 6.5%, a Georgia nonprofit says Peach State residents may not be feeling the good news. “We keep seeing positive headlines about the...
Opinion: Georgia students need more schooling choices
Georgia lawmakers have a unique opportunity this legislative session to change lives. All it takes is one step — passing Education Scholarship Accounts, or ESAs. The undeniable truth is that parents want more educational options for their children and the kids...
Georgia education officials cite education loss as a top priority for 2023
Georgia education officials say they plan to address lost learning opportunities stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. But a leading Georgia nonprofit says state lawmakers should pass legislation to give parents more educational choices, saying the pandemic...
Why Our Justice System Is Making More Criminals Than Preventing & Ways to Reform w/ Joshua Crawford
On this Heard Tell Good Talks our guest is Joshua Crawford, Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at the Georgia Center for Opportunity talk about how our criminal justice system is making more criminals than it is preventing.
Report: Charter school enrollment increases in Georgia
More Georgia students are attending charter schools, while enrollment at public schools is declining, according to a new report. New figures from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools show that Georgia experienced a roughly 4.9% increase in charter...
