NEWS & OPINIONS
The Working-Class Welfare Trap: How Policy Penalizes Marriage | NATIONAL REVIEW
Our tax and welfare policies often penalize marriage, trapping too many people in poverty. ...Not surprisingly, these penalties seem to play a role in fueling working-class Americans’ retreat from marriage that we have seen play out over the past three decades. In...
Welfare Cliffs and Gaps: The role health insurance plays in upward mobility
Cody and Estelle are a young married couple living in a suburban neighborhood. Cody has a full-time job and Estelle is a nanny so she can have their daughter with her at work. They make just enough money to pay the rent…
The Best Administrative Structure for Welfare
When someone needs financial help or workforce training from the government, where do they go?
If we just allowed people to navigate federal programs on their own, the average person would be completely overw
We could all use a good laugh right now, right?
We’re excited to announce that comedian and inspirational speaker Michael Jr. will be joining us as a keynote speaker for Breakthrough Online 2020.
New GCO poll: 81% of parents support educational microgrants during COVID-19
The Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) today released the results of a parent opinion poll that found 81 percent of respondents in favor of using federal emergency relief funds to help parents cover some educational costs during the coronavirus pandemic.
How Second Chances Impact Communities
Our communities need to understand and appreciate Kevin and others like him. We must begin to see past our biases and speak life into those who have fallen. The poverty of community is just as important (if not more important) than economic poverty, and the butterfly effect I am describing is always at play either in a positive or in a negative way.
The Top 5 Recommendations to the Feds on Economic Mobility
If you had the opportunity to tell federal agencies what they need to do to help low-income people improve their economic circumstances, what would you tell them?
This is not an arbitrary question. It was formally asked by the current administration in Washington, D.C.
Equitable Options In Education
Since 2016, the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) has demonstrated the existence of welfare cliffs. Now a team of five economists has come to the same conclusion. Welfare cliffs are an unfortunate feature of the American welfare system.
If You Accept this Raise, You Fall Off the Welfare Cliff
Getting a raise from $15 to $18 could cost you over $20,000 in net income. Would you work hard for that promotion?
The Unintended Consequences of Generous Unemployment Benefits
Since 2016, the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) has demonstrated the existence of welfare cliffs. Now a team of five economists has come to the same conclusion. Welfare cliffs are an unfortunate feature of the American welfare system.
Welfare Without Dignity Doesn’t Work
The fact of the matter is that systems like Medicaid, food stamps, and other programs are not designed to move people into a better life. Instead, they are a stop-gap that simply meets an immediate or temporary need.
Welfare Cliffs Exist—Concludes Team of Economists
Since 2016, the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) has demonstrated the existence of welfare cliffs. Now a team of five economists has come to the same conclusion. Welfare cliffs are an unfortunate feature of the American welfare system.
MEDIA MENTIONS
Agency puts families first in new effort to build resilience | AJC
Just before the COVID-19 pandemic would come to bear down upon us, DePriest Waddy was sitting in his office at Families First when a mother and father stopped in with their two young sons in tow. There’s no polite way to put this, but they were a mess... They won’t do...
New legislation would expand school-choice opportunities for Georgia parents | THE CENTER SQUARE
A Georgia lawmaker has proposed legislation that would provide more education choices for parents by allowing public education funds to be used for private school tuition. The Georgia Educational Scholarship Act, introduced by Rep. Wes Cantrell, R-Woodstock, would...
Private school vouchers back on the state legislative agenda | AJC
Pandemic precautions have set the stage for an unusual legislative session, but one thing hasn’t changed: the years-long feud over public funding of private education in Georgia. For several years, some lawmakers have pushed to spend more state money on private...
Investment’s key to Ga.’s economic mobility | AJC
Over the last decade, Georgia has experienced remarkable progress in developing our transportation and infrastructure network. We stabilized our roads and bridges in 2015 with HB170, regional transit systems in 2018, and invested over $300 million in state money in...
Warnock, Ossoff win: Ga. Democrats flip the U.S. Senate | Rome News-Tribune
ATLANTA — Democrats have captured both of Georgia’s seats in the U.S. Senate for the first time in nearly 20 years, a momentous feat that gives the party control of Congress and the White House. Beyond the cash and cameos, Democratic operatives in Georgia also managed...
Criminal records expungement expansion in Georgia takes effect Jan. 1 | The Moultrie Observer
Millions of Georgians will start the new year with a second chance. A new law that increases the number of criminal records that can be sealed takes effect Friday. The law, the result of Senate Bill 288, allows certain misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies to qualify...
Criminal records expungement expansion in Georgia takes effect Jan. 1 | The Center Square
Millions of Georgians will start the new year with a second chance. A new law that increases the number of criminal records that can be sealed takes effect Friday. The law, the result of Senate Bill 288, allows certain misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies to qualify...
Nonprofit organization offering free job training to Columbus residents | WTVM-9
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - As many continue to deal with unemployment, a local nonprofit has created a program to help people wanting to get back to work. Under the Hiring Well, Doing Good program, the Georgia Center for Opportunity is offering something free...
