The Georgian Gazette

Looking For Real Conservatives In these early days of a new General Assembly session in Georgia with a new governor in office and reorganization of the two chambers of government in Atlanta , many questions are yet to be answered. We are hearing about the plight of states across our nation who have discovered they are out of money and must find a way to present balanced budgets to their citizens. We have heard that several local and state governments are at the point of declaring bankruptcy to find a way to ultimately come out from under the heavy load of their financial obligations. In the first week of the new session in Georgia , a report was issued by the Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness that had recommendations to increase taxes on citizens of Georgia . I understand some of the elected officials felt that if the financial burden was going to be met with revenues tanking, the only solution was to raise taxes. The best way to shift blame in government for unpopular ...

Since its creation in 1993, Georgia’s HOPE program has provided $5 billion worth of benefits to over 1.2 million students. The idea behind the Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) program was that deserving students should have the opportunity to continue their education. The program also has the added benefit of keeping Georgia’s best and brightest students in the state which is critical for our future economic success. The problem now, as with so many other government programs, is that HOPE is facing serious financial difficulties. In his inaugural address last week, Gov. Nathan Deal vowed to save HOPE. In his State of the State address which followed two days later, Deal said if current spending patterns continue, the program will be unable to meet its obligations by 2013. “If we are to save HOPE we must make programmatic changes during this legislative session,” Deal said. “I am ready and your leadership has indicated they are ready to make those changes. My 2012 b...