NEWS & OPINIONS
Taking it to the Next Level
It was a rainy Thursday night in Georgia, but that didn’t stop couples from gathering for a night of food and fun, and strengthening couples and marriages in their relationships. #ElevateCouples Pop-up Event was hosted by GCO’s Family team (formerly Healthy Families...
BETTER WORK Co-hosts A Job Fair To Support Gwinnett Families Facing Housing Crisis
GCO partnered with the Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry to help displaced families Today we're witnessing an unprecedented labor market, with a record-high 10.9 million unfilled job openings across the country in August. One of the key challenges we are facing is...
The Georgia Center for Opportunity has signed on to a letter in favor of the EQUAL Act
The Georgia Center for Opportunity has signed on to a letter with 37 organizations across the ideological spectrum in favor of the EQUAL Act now pending in Congress.The EQUAL Act would end the federal prison sentence disparity between crack cocaine and powdered...
Better Work Access and Encourage Worker Freedoms
The Manhattan Institute recently released a report arguing that now is a key time to reform our nation's safety-net system. The goal should be not to offer more income guarantees but to minimize downside risk so that workers are able to move up the economic ladder....
Origins of the Georgia Center for Opportunity: Why we focus on education
If you’ve been following the work and mission of the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO), you’ve probably heard us talk about the Success Sequence. It’s a proven model to alleviate poverty that says a good education leads to a stable job, which in turn leads to...
Eviction Moratorium Expired and the House of Representatives Left Town. What now?
Late on the evening of August 3rd, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control announced it was extending its eviction moratorium for people in an area of “substantial and high transmission” of the COVID-19 virus. This was followed up by the astounding statement by...
Press Release on the U.S. Senate’s Social Services Expansion
PEACHTREE CORNERS—The U.S. Senate approved an entirely partisan reconciliation bill of at least $3.5 trillion that irresponsibly includes the biggest expansion of social services. In his own words, Senate Budget Commit- tee Chairman Bernie Sanders said the budget...
Inflation’s Growing Problem: A warning shot for Congress
The inflation rate in July—as measured by the seasonally-adjusted Consumer Price Index (CPI)—abated somewhat from June's rate, increasing at 0.5% instead of 0.9%. But don’t cheer too much yet. This is known by economists as disinflation, not deflation. The rate came...
Why Mentoring Matters
As I write this, I can think of a handful of people who have impacted my life over the years. I consider these individuals to be mentors whether or not the relationship was a formal mentoring one, and I know I wouldn’t be the person I am without their influence. They...
U.S. House Appropriations Committee Voted to Cut Charter Schools Program Funding
Lawmakers Stifle Learning The U.S. House Appropriations Committee recently voted to cut $40 million from the federal Charter Schools Program, in addition to placing new burdensome restrictions on how charter schools operate. In response, the Georgia Center for...
The Value of Family
Importance of Family At GCO, the impact area of Family, we always need volunteers. Since we devote much of our time and efforts to family, we enjoy hearing what about family inspires people to volunteer. Eda Beacham is a current volunteer for GCO and we wanted to...
Improve Your Life with a Growth Mindset
Learning keeps you growing Most people agree that learning is important. I’m just not sure we understand how important it really is. I can still remember as a child believing that I needed to know everything or people wouldn’t think I was smart and capable. I hear...
MEDIA MENTIONS
DonorsTrust Launches Giving Ventures Podcast | MENAFN
This week the team at DonorsTrust , a donor-advised fund committed to encouraging philanthropic giving and protecting donor intent, launched a new podcast focusing on philanthropy. The Giving Ventures podcast explores innovative projects and problem-solving...
Working-class Americans’ Views on Family Policy | GLOBE NEWSWIRE
A new report on the work and family policy preferences of black, Hispanic, and white working-class parents reveals that their opinions often cut against the agenda of Washington, D.C., insiders on both the right and left. The report, Working-Class Americans'...
Anti-Poverty Leaders to Biden: Child Allowance Cash Payments Will Not Give Low-Income Americans True Opportunity | DAILY SIGNAL
Policymakers who are concerned about low-income Americans should reject the Biden administration’s plan to make new unconditional cash payments permanent in the form of a child allowance. Policymakers should not support this ill-advised attempt to expand safety-net...
Letter: Reimagine how children stay connected to school | THE ROANOKE TIMES
The June 8 Roanoke School Board meeting addressed student learning loss and post-pandemic reorganization. As a Hollins University student and member of the Roanoke community, I care about access to education. In my research, I found a study from the Georgia Center for...
Inflation is running wild — poor and low-income Americans will be hurt the most | QUAD CITY TIMES
How can we help working families the most? Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour is a popular solution, but it’s a short-sighted one given the reality that inflation — the silent assassin of Americans’ livelihoods, particularly for the poor — is now running the...
Gov’t. check can’t beat work’s dignity | AJC
Jobs provide dignity and purpose to people’s lives and contribute to community flourishing in ways that can’t be measured by monthly employment reports.
Biden’s ‘Illusions Of Economic Magic’ Fail The Forgotten American | DAILY CALLER
In a very different time — yet in similar economic straits — then-presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke of the “forgotten man,” the American left behind by seismic trends and sweeping changes beyond his control. “These unhappy times call for the building...
Joining Forces to Get Our Neighbors Employment Ready | SAPORTA REPORT
In tandem with finding stable employment, many caregivers and heads of household are dealing with trauma and other socioemotional challenges. That is where Families First comes in. We have developed a screening tool to assess resiliency, a person’s ability to get back...
