Successes During the 2019 Legislative Session
As the dust settles on another Georgia legislative session, we are pleased to report that the overall results for bills that GCO worked on to achieve passage were positive and encouraging. Education Opportunities Expand Once Again For starters, in the education...
Ready to work, right out of high school
Georgia’s public-school teachers should be proud of the work they’ve done to raise graduation rates in our state. Since 2011, graduation rates have increased by more than 14 percent, with 81.6 percent of the class of 2018 graduating. It’s an...
Strategies to reignite the power of work
The economy is booming: Employment is at record-breaking levels, and income and wages are finally rising again. Yet something is missing. Despite all the positive economic news, a significant percent of Georgians (and Americans broadly) have been left behind. This...
Three reasons why Medicaid expansion is bad for Georgia
By Erik Randolph, Contributing Scholar Expanding Medicaid to reduce the number of Georgians without health insurance is an idea continually being promoted. Here are three good reasons why it would be bad for Georgia. Reason Number One: Expanding Medicaid...
Welfare reform in Georgia poised to gain ground
We know that people do better in life when they experience the benefits of meaningful work and healthy relationships. But we also know that so many cultural forces are stacked against success in these two areas. One of the biggest is the American welfare system, which...
School choice is giving hope to Georgia’s kids
Georgia legislators are currently considering HB 301 which would enable families to customize their children's education to meet specific learning needs with an Education Scholarship Account (ESA). Experience and common sense tell us that no single system can meet the...
ESAs change lives of Arizona and Florida students
By Contributing Scholar: Jonathan Butcher As a teacher, Julie Young knew her grandson was going to need help outside of the classroom. He had been diagnosed with dyslexia, and he struggled to “retain anything he saw on paper,” Julie said. Julie and her family...
Happy National Marriage Week!
There’s no doubt about it: Marriage is in crisis today, both in Georgia and across the United States. But even as we grieve declining marriage rates among young people—many of whom choose to cohabit rather than tie the knot—and spiking divorce rates among Baby...
ESAs are the next logical step for Georgia
The Georgia legislature is back in session, and school choice is likely to be a front and center issue. As we look to build off past school-choice successes in Georgia, a key priority will be to see Educational Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) become a reality. Along these...
One of the best ways to escape poverty: Full-time work
It may surprise you to learn that data from the U.S. Census data show that just 2.4 percent of those who work full-time year-round live in poverty. In contrast, 14 percent of those who did work—but not full-time, and not year-round—were in poverty, and fully 32...
