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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Media Statement: Number of people working hasn’t caught up to pre-pandemic levels

by Erik Randolph | Aug 9, 2022

Media Statement: Number of people working hasn’t caught up to pre-pandemic levels

On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that total non-farm payroll employment rose by 528,000 in July. The result was much higher than expected.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “Friday’s jobs report is being billed as great news, but peeling back a few layers reveals a worse reality,” said Erik Randolph, GCO’s director of research. “It’s true the number of jobs in the United States is now at pre-pandemic levels. The difference is that the number of people who are actually working hasn’t caught back up. That implies more people are working two or even three jobs to make ends meet in this highly inflationary environment. Meanwhile, wage growth isn’t keeping pace with inflation, putting poor and working class Americans even further behind.”

Georgia non-adjusted unemployment numbers increase as economy dips into possible recession

by Corey Burres | Jul 28, 2022

Georgia non-adjusted unemployment numbers increase as economy dips into possible recession

A week after reporting Georgia’s June seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit an all-time low, new numbers show the state’s unemployment rate increased.

Last week, officials said Georgia’s preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June 2022 was 2.9%, below the national rate of 3.6%. The state’s rate decreased from 5.4% in June 2021…

“There has never been a time when the Business Cycle Dating Committee did not declare a recession when real GDP declined for two consecutive quarters since the availability of quarterly GDP data,” Erik Randolph, director of research for the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO), said in a statement. “In fact, the opposite is true. There have been two times, since the availability of the data, without two consecutive real GDP declines when the Committee declared them to be recessions. This happened with their declared 1960 and 2001 recessions.

“Who knows if and when the NBER Committee will declare whether we’re already in a recession, and for how long,” Randolph added. “But if it doesn’t declare so despite the real GDP data, it would be unprecedented and require a good explanation. In the meantime, GDP gives perhaps the broadest measure of economic activity, giving a strong signal that we’re in a recession until such time economists work out their various methodologies to affirm or deny.”

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Biden denies recession after GDP decline, but economists say otherwise

by Corey Burres | Jul 28, 2022

Biden denies recession after GDP decline, but economists say otherwise

The U.S. economy has shrunk for six consecutive months, according to federal data released Thursday. which led many economists to declare a recession. But the Biden administration is pushing back, arguing the U.S. is not in a recession after all…

“There has never been a time when the Business Cycle Dating Committee did not declare a recession when real GDP declined for two consecutive quarters since the availability of quarterly GDP data,” said Erik Randolph, the Georgia Center for Opportunity’s director of research. “In fact, the opposite is true. There have been two times, since the availability of the data, without two consecutive real GDP declines when the Committee declared them to be recessions. This happened with their declared 1960 and 2001 recessions.”

Randolph said not declaring a recession this time would be “unprecedented.”

“Who knows if and when the NBER Committee will declare whether we’re already in a recession, and for how long,” he added. “But if it doesn’t declare so despite the real GDP data, it would be unprecedented and require a good explanation. In the meantime, GDP gives perhaps the broadest measure of economic activity, giving a strong signal that we’re in a recession until such time economists work out their various methodologies to affirm or deny.”

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