We’re mere days away from the beginning of the 2024 legislative session and our elected leaders will once again be making decisions on critical issues that impact every Georgian. At Georgia First, we’re committed to advancing economic opportunities, education, and health outcomes for all Georgians – and we’re calling on our policymakers to move forward in bold, yet pragmatic ways to improve the lives of all who call Georgia home.
Perhaps the factor Georgians fear the most is physical attention. With emerging costs, hospital closures, and a political hole facing thousands of people, many Georgians are failing to create economic stability for themselves or their families. When a user can’t get the physical care they need, everything is at risk. People can’t work when they’re sick, young people miss out on essential learning, and small and large businesses suffer when they don’t have a reliable workforce.
We believe that healthcare is the most vital factor facing Georgian policymakers this year.
A strong workforce fuels Georgia’s economic competitiveness, and can only be boosted through a productive and physically fit population. Currently, about 487,000 Georgians lack access to affordable, quality physical care, and those are low-wage workers, working parents, veterans and the elderly. By closing the hole in Medicaid policy for those Georgians, our state would see more opportunities for innovation in fitness care, empower Americans to better manage their fitness, improve access to meaningful fitness services, and protect Georgian families from medical debt and monetary stress.
The long-term economic viability of Georgia requires an engaged workforce – one that is healthy, skilled, and prepared for work. An investment in education is required to maintain our economic position, but our state’s current literacy rates are concerning as we are consistently ranked in the bottom ten (or lower) in literacy. Our future workforce needs us to invest in early care and education.
The science of early brain progression provides a roadmap for investing in early formative education; Our legislators just want to prioritize it and proactively seek new funding resources. We’re on the right track with the governor’s budget proposal and mutual literacy in the Georgia House and Senate, but we can’t stop it.
Education, combined with access to health care, is not only the basic key to a person’s good luck and quality of life, but it is also a proven solution for the growth of the Georgian middle class.
To achieve a higher quality education for all Georgians, and especially for our youngest students, we are advocating for a law that allows sports betting. Currently, millions of dollars are being spent on sports betting in states other than Georgia. In education, it can simply reshape our state and its families for generations to come — about $50 million to $75 million a year.
Currently, two-thirds of Georgia’s third-graders do not read at grade level. As summarized in the Get Georgia Reading campaign, children who can’t read well until the end of third grade are more likely to have poor health, have troubled field problems, teen parents, and drop out of high school. As adults, they are more likely to finish their sentence in prison, fight unemployment, and have a shorter life expectancy.
This is not acceptable. Georgia lawmakers must consider the long-term implications if we do not invest more in early care and education in our state.
Voting is the means through which Georgians can solve key issues such as fitness and education.
Free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy, and we are firmly committed to ensuring that the right to vote of each and every eligible Georgian is protected. Outside influences have sown distrust in our country, and Georgia has been left in the unfortunate center. of baseless conspiracies that are still part of the electoral debate, even just four years later.
We can’t turn back the clock to 2020, but we know one thing for sure: Making adjustments to the state’s voting procedure during a presidential election cycle is a mistake Georgia can’t repeat. We will work diligently to assist our local election offices by opposing them. any adjustments to the voting procedure in 2024 and advocating for more guidance for Georgia’s 159 counties on how to navigate demanding voter eligibility situations.
In everything we do, we stand up for Georgians. To live a better, healthier life; have less difficult and affordable physical care for themselves and their families; to obtain a quality education and to participate in the very democracy on which our country is founded.
We will keep fighting until each and every working family, no matter where they live, has a chance to succeed. Let’s get to work, Georgia!
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by Heather Breeden, Georgia Recorder December 27, 2023
We are just a few days away from the start of the 2024 legislative consultation and once our elected leaders will make decisions on very important issues that affect each and every Georgian. At Georgia First, we are committed to promoting economic opportunity, education, and fitness for all Georgians, and we call on our policymakers to boldly, but pragmatically, move forward to improve the lives of each and every one who calls Georgia home.
Perhaps the factor Georgians fear the most is physical attention. With emerging costs, hospital closures, and a political hole facing thousands of people, many Georgians are failing to create economic stability for themselves or their families. When a user can’t get the physical care they need, everything is at risk. People can’t work when they’re sick, young people miss out on essential learning, and small and large businesses suffer when they don’t have a reliable workforce.
We believe that healthcare is the most vital factor facing Georgian policymakers this year.
A strong workforce fuels Georgia’s economic competitiveness, and can only be boosted through a productive and physically fit population. Currently, about 487,000 Georgians lack access to affordable, quality physical care, and those are low-wage workers, working parents, veterans and the elderly. By closing the hole in Medicaid policy for those Georgians, our state would see more opportunities for innovation in fitness care, empower Americans to better manage their fitness, improve access to meaningful fitness services, and protect Georgian families from medical debt and monetary stress.
Georgia’s long-term economic viability requires an engaged, healthy, professional, and ready-to-work workforce. Investment in education is mandatory for our economic standing, yet the existing literacy rates in our state are concerning, as we consistently rank in the bottom ten (or less) for literacy. Our long-term workforce wants us to invest in early learning and care.
The science of early brain progression provides a roadmap for investing in early formative education; Our legislators just want to prioritize it and proactively seek new funding resources. We’re on the right track with the governor’s budget proposal and mutual literacy in the Georgia House and Senate, but we can’t stop it.
Education, combined with access to health care, is not only the basic key to a person’s good luck and quality of life, but it is also a proven solution for the growth of the Georgian middle class.
To achieve a higher quality education for all Georgians, and especially for our youngest students, we are advocating for a law that allows sports betting. Currently, millions of dollars are being spent on sports betting in states other than Georgia. In education, it can simply reshape our state and its families for generations to come — about $50 million to $75 million a year.
Currently, two-thirds of Georgia’s third-graders do not read at grade level. As summarized in the Get Georgia Reading campaign, children who can’t read well until the end of third grade are more likely to have poor health, have troubled field problems, teen parents, and drop out of high school. As adults, they are more likely to finish their sentence in prison, fight unemployment, and have a shorter life expectancy.
This is unacceptable. Georgian lawmakers want to see the long-term implications of not investing more in early formative care and schooling in our state.
Voting is the means through which Georgians can solve key issues such as fitness and education.
Free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy, and we are firmly committed to ensuring that the right to vote of each and every eligible Georgian is protected. Outside influences have sown distrust in our country, and Georgia has been left in the unfortunate center. of baseless conspiracies that are still part of the electoral debate, even just four years later.
We can’t go back to 2020, but we’re sure of one thing: Making adjustments to the state’s voting procedure during a presidential election cycle is a mistake Georgia can’t repeat. We will work diligently to assist our local election offices by opposing them. any changes to voting procedure in 2024 and advocating for more guidance for Georgia’s 159 counties on how to manage demanding situations such as voter eligibility.
In everything we do, we stand up for Georgians. To live a better, healthier life; have less difficult and affordable physical care for themselves and their families; to obtain a quality education and to participate in the very democracy on which our country is founded.
We will keep fighting until each and every working family, no matter where they live, has a chance to succeed. Let’s get to work, Georgia!
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Georgia Recorder is owned by States Newsroom, a network of grant-backed news bureaus and a coalition of donors as a 501c public charity(3). Georgia Recorder maintains its editorial independence. Please contact Editor John McCosh if you have any questions: info@georgiarecorder. com. Follow Georgia Recorder on Facebook and Twitter.
Heather Breeden serves as the Director of Advocacy and Engagement for Georgia First. With more than 20 years of experience in political and legal debates, she enjoys engaging with policy makers in the South. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Georgia and J.D. from Mercer University. Heather is a native Atlantan.
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