If Ga. is a test case for conservatism, It Fails. [View all]

[Raffi Ella]

Last edited Fri Jan 10, 2014, 02:49 PM - Edit history (1)

Great article, outlines in numbers and facts Why Republican Rule is Bad for GA. There are some pretty great comments that follow it too.

Conservatives have a theory, a theory that has become the foundational myth of their movement. It holds that the best path to economic growth is to slash taxes, cut government, create a regulatory environment that favors business and ensure that the workforce isn’t “spoiled” by a safety net that becomes a hammock, as they like to say.

Do all that, and business will prosper, incomes will rise, people will have jobs and poverty will ease.

Since taking the reins of state government in January 2003, Georgia Republicans have implemented every bit of that agenda. They have slashed unemployment benefits and welfare benefits, and pay the lowest Medicaid reimbursements in the country. They have made us 49th per capita in transportation spending, and the business magazines love us for our “pro-business” environment.

And oh yeah, taxes have been slashed and slashed again. In 2003, Georgia ranked 29th in state and local tax revenue per capita, and was second behind only Virginia among the 12 southeastern states. Today it ranks 44th nationally, and eighth of 12 in the Southeast. We may have the third lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation, and we can’t afford to keep our school doors open for 180 days a year, but darn if we don’t have low taxes.

"the closer you look at the numbers, the uglier they get."

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/jay-bookman/2014/jan/09/if-ga-test-case-conservatism-it-fails/