More jobs in distressed areas could reduce Georgia’s poverty rate
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...
DeKalb sheriff launches job training program for jail inmates
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...
Education designed for everyone and every learning need
Every day we are greeted by options—from the many products available through local grocery stores to the millions of apps available on smartphones. So, why would we expect anything different in education? As Georgia’s schoolchildren head back to class this month, it’s...
Foster families in Georgia need better educational options—here’s how to help them
Gina McCarn will be the first to tell you that being a foster parent is tough. But well worth the effort. The trouble is, not everyone sees and acknowledges the sacrifices that foster families make. Take the world of education, for example. One of Gina’s foster sons,...
The impact of healthcare costs on upward mobility
For high-income individuals and families, a visit to a doctor’s office is a financial non-event. They typically have robust health insurance to cover the out-of-pocket costs, and their co-pays are low and easily affordable. But for poor and even middle-income families...
Georgia Gov. Kemp calls for state budget cuts
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...
Some food for thought as kids head back to school
Many Georgia students return to the classroom this month. For most, the last days before school begins are an exciting time to squeeze in that last bit of summer fun and get stocked up on school supplies. But for students in poverty, a new school year often brings...
Government healthcare benefits create another welfare cliff that hurts the poor
Imagine being a worker on government assistance because your job doesn’t quite meet your bills. Then, finally, you get that raise to put you over the top and relieve some stress. The one catch: You lose assistance needed for things like health insurance. Now, you...
Expanding Medicaid is not enough to help middle class families in Georgia
Some in Georgia are pushing for a full expansion of Medicaid. As the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) team has outlined before, this step would do more harm than good for low-income Georgia families. But there’s another narrative unfolding that tends to not get...
The health care crisis is debilitating for those in poverty
The high cost of quality health care is a debilitating expense
for low-income and poverty-stricken families. In order to enable as many Georgians as
possible to achieve the Success Sequence, we must enact meaningful health care
insurance reform now.