So the 2014 Fiscal Year Budget is out for Georgia courtesy of the non-profit think tank ‘Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’ and it is sure to raise a few eyebrows for those who give it a close read. According to the analysis, Georgia is now ranked 32nd in job growth in America, with a loss of roughly 387,000 jobs since the recession in 2007. Shocking numbers to say the least, but what’s worse is what the budget is doing to fix this.
So the obvious solution to regaining these lost jobs would be to change the infrastructure of our state. This includes rebuilding what makes Georgia ‘work’, from an educated workforce to efficient routes for transporting goods and commuting around the state. The budget for 2014, however, does none of these things.
The word of the decade in Georgia’s budgets seems to be ‘cuts’. Cuts here, cuts there, but when you cut down a budget too much, it ceases to be a helpful contributor of job growth. The vicious cycle of politics, especially in a Republican-heavy state like Georgia, is that if the voters don’t see budget cuts, less spending, less taxes, and more jobs they become angered—not realizing that doing those four things at once is something that can never be achieved.
What concerns me most is the heavy cuts to education in Georgia since 2009 and for the future, specifically K-12 education. The analysis states “K-12 education alone is being supported at a level more than $1 billion below what the state formula calls for.” Even a third grader knows that our education system isn’t working when we’re $1 billion short of where we need to be. Furthermore, the University System of Georgia is down 17% in funding since 2009, which has led to the recent change in HOPE scholarship amounts awarded (down to roughly 93% versus the original 100%) and rising cost of tuition. These changes affect almost every student.
Two last slivers of hope found in the analysis include Governor Nathan Deal’s proposal to increase the HOPE grant payout by 3% due to recent increases in state revenues. Along with this proposal he is starting a $6.5 million ‘Strategic Industries Workforce Development Grant’ for HOPE students to pursue “high demand diplomas”. This sounds like an interesting new type of grant, but I feel it may lower the quality of graduates earning these diplomas as well as a shortage of jobs for graduates who flock to these “high demand” diplomas.
I can only hope that the minds behind the Georgia budget will put their political ties aside for just once and think about balancing the budget effectively. The most obvious option would be to undertake a comprehensive tax reform in the state. Before you groan about higher taxes, just take note: Georgia taxes have not increased hardly at all in the past 30 years (as a ratio of personal income) so for once I would just like to see someone stop being so afraid of proposing new taxes. This may just be a pipe dream ever since the political suicide of George Bush Sr. proposing new taxes, but a boy can dream.
