mmm mmm obama mmm mmm
Georgia is facing a budget shortfall, and cuts will need to be made in key areas such as education, health care and social services.
That was the assessment of Alan Essig, the executive director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, in remarks at the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce breakfast with legislators Thursday.
"When we have these billion-dollar deficits that we're facing, it's impossible to balance the budget ... without cutting education, health care and social services, unless you add some other revenues," Mr. Essig said.
For fiscal year 2010, the governor's preliminary estimate pro-jects that revenues will decline 6.2 percent, forcing the state's budget into a $1.3 billion deficit. The state will face billion dollar shortfalls in 2011 and 2012.
More than 86 percent of the state's budget is spent on education, health care, criminal justice and social services.
Policymakers have discussed solutions such as reducing the number of school days from 180 to 170 days and cutting teacher and state employees' salaries by as much as 10 percent, Mr. Essig said.
Two members of Augusta's legislative delegation who attended the breakfast, Reps. Wayne Howard and Quincy Murphy, said they had not heard about possible cuts in school days or pay for teacher and state employees.
"If it's being discussed, it hasn't reached any of the committees that I serve on or any of the caucuses that I'm a member of," Mr. Howard said.
"I'm going in with an open mind that a lot of things could happen. At the same time ... the last thing we need to do is tamper with education and health care, as well as public safety."
Richmond County superintendent Dr. Dana Bedden and Columbia County superintendent Charles Nagle were both unavailable for reaction because they were attending the Georgia School Boards Association annual conference in Atlanta.
Rep. Barbara Sims, R-Augusta, said these cuts were among many options being discussed.
Mr. Murphy said other options for cuts need to be considered.
"We've had a meeting with the Board of Education, and based upon what they've shared with us, we just don't know where they're going to cut anymore," he said. "Nothing else happens unless you've got an educated workforce. We've got to bring some other options to the table."
Georgia is among 48 states facing budget shortfalls, Mr. Essig said.
"There are still states worse than us, but we are worse than most other states. We've been losing revenue," Mr. Essig said. "This year, revenues for the first four months of the fiscal year are down by about 15 percent."
Gov. Sonny Perdue's budget, which passed in April, was based on 1 percent revenue growth. When Mr. Perdue realized this was not feasible, he called for budget cuts of $900 million, accounting for a 4 percent decline in revenue.
Georgia State University's economic forecast predicts an additional $300 million to $500 million decline this fiscal year.
The state has received $1.4 billion in stimulus funds, which was helpful, Mr. Essig said.
"I don't know what we would have done, how we would have balanced without the federal funds," Mr. Essig said. "Thousands of teachers and state employees would have been laid off if we didn't have the stimulus."
Georgia has always been a low-tax state, but leaders need to consider raising state taxes, he said.
The General Assembly must consider long-term comprehensive tax reform to improve the fairness of the tax system and modernize the tax base for the 21st century, he said.
"It's not about Georgia becoming a high-tax state. Georgia shouldn't even come close to becoming a high-tax state. It is a question of what is good for the citizens, business and what investments do we want the state to make," Mr. Essig said.
"When we're cutting budgets, we're cutting from a low base. There's not a lot of fat left to cut. It's a hard, hard conversation to have, but the state has got to have it or we're heading into a brick wall," he said.
Mr. Murphy said he's not fond of the notion of raising taxes.
"We want to make sure our citizens are in a position to survive this recession, and I'm not so sure that putting an additional tax burden on them is the way to go," he said.
Mr. Howard expects the next state monthly revenue report next week.
"I'm hoping it's not going to be as severe as it's been in past months," Mr. Howard said. "It causes me to shudder when I think about where we are. We've cut fat, we've cut muscle, now we're down to the bone and that's not a good thing."
Reach LaTina Emerson at (706) 823-3227 or latina.emerson@augustachronicle.com.
GOVERNOR TO SPEAK IN AUGUSTA
Gov. Sonny Perdue will be in downtown Augusta on Dec. 18 to deliver the keynote address to Leadership Augusta.
The governor will provide an update on state issues.
The event will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Oglethorpe Room at Augusta Marriott Hotel and Suites. Leadership Augusta is charging $27 per person to attend.
Comments
mmm mmm obama mmm mmm
I want to make sure I get this correct. This year we were given furlough days to help reduce the budget and since we were not being paid for those days we did not work. Now our governor and his 'economicst' are going to require us to work the days and take a pay cut? Not only that but the Professional Standards Comission of Georgia has changed their advancement salary schedule to where when I finish my EDS degree next May from ASU in leadership I may not get the pay increase to go along with the degree!! I physically worked at a school over 40 hours this week already not including today. On top of that I've worked no less than 2 hours every night or early morning at home organizing for the day. I'll take a reduction in pay if I receive compensation for being a social worker, nurse, therapist, data collection specialist, etc. With the furlough days and overall economy I am now struggling to pay my bills every month as are many teachers and others; yet, after 4 minutes of googling this morning I found Sonny Purdue made $135,281 this year and lives in a 24,000 sq ft home I help pay for! Excuse the teachers if we are a little upset over the possible additional cuts and lack of suppport
tchnga, if you think Perdue's pay is outta whack.. check out the senators and representatives. i think all of them should be paid the average salary of their state / district. and MAKE IT WORK. god knows the rest of us have to.
tchnga, I agree with you a pay cut we can not afford, I thought the furlough would help blance out things, but it sounds if it didn't work at all.
The furloughs certainly did help. Without them the situation would have been far worse this year.
Unfortunately, now it appears that the situation will be getting even worse next year. Asking employees to take a pay cut because of poor planning on the part of politicians would only seerve to make matters worse. What we should do is ask that all of those receiving unemployment benefits pitch in to assist our schools, law enforcement and other agencies with jobs that are currently being performed by staff or contracted out. The large influx of volunteers could help free up existing staff to perform critical duties.
yes we can !!!!Where's all that porkulous money?........stupid sheeple
Bettyboop, you are funny, in a pathetic, stupid sort of way. That's all you Repubs can seem to say (or agree on): The stimulus didn't work. Of course, it HAS worked in a lot of ways, and I haven't heard any Repubs offer any reasons why they say it has not "worked."
Go ahead, enlighten the "sheeple", moron.
Clean-up I will enlighten you as to why the "stimulus" plan has'nt worked in the way it was presented. 1st, Tax Rebates...It adds to the budget deficit and the federal debt. And timing is critical. If the economy has already bottomed out and begun to recover by the time checks go out, the extra money could drive up inflation. 2nd, Tax breaks for business, Business incentives take longer to affect the economy than a direct injection of cash to consumers. And like rebates, they add to the deficit. 3rd, Interest rate cuts, If rates go too low, spending can shoot up, triggering inflation or fueling another bubble. Remedial rate cuts could also convince investors the Fed will bail them out, encouraging riskier behavior. 4th, Government spending, The money ultimately comes from taxpayers, and the government generally spends money less efficiently than consumers: The Sen. Millard F. Blowhard Memorial Bridge to Nowhere isn't going to save the economy. 5th, Expanding food stamp and unemployment-benefit programs, Extended benefits can dissuade laid-off workers from looking for new jobs or moving to areas with more jobs. And they'd add modestly to the federal deficit. Clear enough for you???
OBX Didn't Bush start the bailout just before he left for Texas??
Seenit yes Bush did put into effect a "stimulus" plan as well...I simply stated the reasons why "stimulus" plans don't work...I don't believed I mentioned Obama directly, I was referring to the plans directly, but since Obama is President now and not Bush I guess I can see where the confusion there-in lies.
How about this from the above article: "Reps. Wayne Howard and Quincy Murphy, said they had not heard about possible cuts in school days or pay for teacher and state employees. "If it's being discussed, it hasn't reached any of the committees that I serve on or any of the caucuses that I'm a member of," Mr. Howard said." - - - Well, I guess that shows that Wayne Howard and Quincy Murphy are not "in the loop" at the statehouse. They are just taking up space and not representing anybody.
Everybody just needs to pay more into the idiot tax aka Ga. Lottery so it can help to fund education as it was originally passed to do.
I have been working for the state for 31+ years. We have not received a pay raise in over 3 years thanks to Sonny Purdue. Yet our medical benefits have gone up every year. Some people had to change to a more expensive health insurance coverage because the state droppted Blue Choice, our property taxes have gone up including an increase in mandatory trash pickup and now there is a possibility that our pay is being decreased? I can't afford any more bills. I also found out that Dana Bedden is getting a $15,000 dollar a year raise while teachers and other state employees are being furloughed. We had the same problem when Larkin was superintendant and was receiving high raises every year for doing nothing. I did not vote for Purdue either time he ran and hope that the people who did vote for him are satisfied with the way he is running this state. I just thank God that I will be retiring this year.
muffintop you are one of the lucky ones. I did not vote for him either and now I am barely making it every month. After reading this depressing news I am not sure how my family will make it after having our taxes go up $300 which increased the house payment by $40 and may pay was cut this year. Now I have to look forward to even more cuts in my pay. This is really making Christmas hard this year because your scared to spend any money for presents in case you need to save up for when the pooh really hits the fan after January.
scooby- some of my best Christmases were the ones that I didn't have any money. And how much "stuff" does anyone need, anyway? Just don't buy anything. You will find out who really loves you. And if they don't understand your situation, you shouldn't be buying them gifts, anyway.
I agree but it is my son's first Christmas and my stress is not over getting the presents because he needs very little it is the necessities that is worrying me. Will I have enough for diapers, formula, and etc. With the furloughs, increased house payment, husband who was layed off until just recently, it has been rough. One thing is for sure we have each other and we are healthy so there is a silver lining in here somewhere.
If you have a healthy child, you don't have any problems. The rest is just "stuff". Because if he wasn't healthy, no amount of money would make you happy. I know. You will manage. You will find a way. Parents have worried about that for thousands of years and for thousands of years, it's all worked out. I can remember a time when many families didn't even bother with Christmas presents for the first two years of a child's life. Your child will come first, and you will be surprised at all the "needs" you will cheerfully give up and not need, after all.
you people voted in a republican regime, then act surprised its hard to make ends meet? go figure... democrats have always been for the poor and middleclass.
democrats have certainly made the poor their constituents - on the backs of working people! the gov't programs that suck our wallets dry don't go to teachers like me; instead, the next generation of welfare mammies continue to breed unrestrained and i get the pleasure of trying to help raise them while all along i receive fewer pay increases and more bills.
SO if I am correct, we are increasing accountability by changing the new evaluation process (class keys), requiring teachers to maintain a portfolio proving their worth, increasing class sizes beyond belief, with limited or no supplies (not even copies or paper). Classes without enough books, harsh administrators, who are being dumped on by their new executive directors of schools. Endure extremely harsh days with parents who think their little darlings can do no wrong and students who are aggressive and disrespectful, but can not be disciplined because each teacher is told if they send these students to the office it will be documented on their evaluations. NOW we are lowering their pay and furloughing them further... and we expect student to get a better education and meet AYP... teacher morale has to be so low by now that they don't even care anymore... I agree, teachers will be so leave at enormous levels... then who will be there to teach the students.... something has go to give... educators deserve to be able to support their families, and earn a salary deserving of the educational stature... Is any one paying attention? we need a union, AFT ..NOW
of course cut education, we know it not important! why not just discontinue puplic education altogether.
This problem is the confluence of a number of factors. In no order of importance; first thing is the relative affluence of the government's tax base for the last three decades- the economy was good; tax collections went up regualarly, year after year, so the legislature came to rely on an ever-increasing budget number. Which is good, except when it doesn't. Like now. The previous would have not been harmful is the expenditures were managed with some sense of frugality; they weren't. Instead of capital improvements and investment, the money was basically ploughed into hiring more 'education facilitators' bureaucrat speak for administration; the numbers of of teachers remained for years as flat, relative to students, while vast office complexes were built and staffed. Then came the reduction of class size dance. Good concept; lousy execution. Truth is, it was needed; unlike days of old -- my generation-- where 35-40 kids were an average class, that number became simply too much to handle. Why? A teacher can only teach forty kids who are willing to be taught; in today's class there are three or four little delinquents who are backed by their parents.
This last has somewhat justified the army of bureaucrats, but as it turns out, they are highly paid it seems to take the kids and parent's side and make life miserable for teachers, who if the people power are to be believed have time for nothing else than vendetta agaonst future Chosen Ones in their classrooms. So because of the breakdown of family discipline, now we need twice as many teachers as in past years. While funding has gone up, it hasn't doubled while the need for teachers has. Subtract the overhead leeches, and we are at the current situation.
One suggestion I posted years ago to alleviate the problem: Reduce by 10% the pay for each level away from the classroom. A teacher gets 100%, an assistant principal 90%, the school principal 80%, weenies in admin, especially central offices, pay should be limited to no more than half what a classroom teacher is paid.
Of all things needing to be 'cut' EDUCATION is not ONE of them.... The powers that be need to take a good hard look at the statistics. Also.. one other thing.. These Kids are the FUTURE of our nation.. do we REALLY NEED.... more uneducated fools out there running around.. We need the next Generation to, Hopefully, Try and dig the nation out of the Mess We have caused... They need our Educators in the Classrooms being Paid a Decent Salary not being given ' bullsh*t Furlough dayz!!!
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