March 26, 2019 6:00 AM
Morning Reads for Tuesday, May 26
Good morning! There is one actual week – which means four working days – left in the 2019 legislative session.
- The final book in Don Winslow’s Cartel trilogy is out, and even George Will thinks you should read it.
- The Fire Ant Festival is an economic boon for Ashburn.
- I’ve said it before, and I’ll surely say it again: the Braves moving to Cobb was one of the best economic things that ever happened in our county.
- Changes to Georgia’s sovereign immunity laws are closer than ever.
- Arugula (it’s a veg-uh-tuh-ble) is underrated. Why is this?
- Has the online behavior of local politicians changed in the Trump era? (Spoiler alert: YES.)
- This headline is entirely unfair to GenX women – but the article is absolutely fair to Beto O’Rourke.
- Emmet Bondurant and the saga of redistricting in Georgia.
- There is a lot of pollen this year, more than usual, even. Why is this?
About Author
Teri
Teri Anulewicz is a Democrat who represents House District 42 in the Georgia General Assembly. She previously spent nearly a decade on the Smyrna City Council. A native New Orleanian and quasi-Texan, Teri graduated from Agnes Scott College in 1998. She's been a front page contributor since 2015, and she compiles each Tuesday's Morning Reads.
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Interesting, sovereign immunity has been a bedrock of western law from the time Kings ruled over their subjects. It has keep government (Since government is really us) protected from frivolous lawsuits. The other side of that coin is over intrusive government could hide behind sovereign immunity and not be required to pay damages. I guess time will tell if this helps or not
The General Assembly is giving Kemp unfettered authority to expand Obamacare, except don’t call it that because Obamacare is socialism. Kemp has earned the trust, having protected the state’s voter registration database at least three times from complete exposure to anyone that sought it. He was personally accountable in that too, having firing a contractor the first go around. And don’t forget the transparency in how the SoS office explained how it warded off anyone that thought to add and “s” to http and DPG hackers.
http://www.walb.com/2019/03/26/state-house-gives-kemps-medicaid-waiver-plan-final-passage/
It’s the ACA expansion lite. I think that when it comes to health care something is better than nothing. This opens the door for complete expansion in 2 years when the legislature will flip.
Speaking of socialism, headway is being made on legislation that will largely tax metro Atlanta to provide transit in rural areas. Some people in rural areas are having difficulty in getting to their “No.1 in business” $8 / hr jobs.
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20192020/HB/511
Sigh. Let’s say that you support single payer. Is it fair to point out how difficult it is to see a specialist in the UK’s NHS “single payer” system without expensive supplemental private insurance?
Let’s say that you support EU’s economic and political model. Well that runs the gamut from Germany’s 3.2% unemployment rate and social stability … to Greece and Spain where the rates are 15% and 18% and any attempt to cut public benefits its met with street rioting. We like to pretend that Italy and France are closer to the former than the latter because it makes us feel better I guess?
Let’s say you like the Nordic model. Fine … Norway has 5 million people. No single metropolitan era bigger than Nashville’s city proper, and only 2 bigger than Macon. So apply that to America’s 330 million people over 3.8 million square miles and is the U.S. more likely to become Norway/Finland or Spain/Greece? Especially if America makes the shift to social democracy rapidly instead of using a slow, deliberate, planned fashion that takes into account the real and serious failures of social democracy elsewhere, as well as with the differences in size (population and geography) between the areas that one wishes to import these ideas from and the country that you wish to govern with them.
This is a great debate to have one day. Perhaps if progressives could stop referring to the other side as fascists it could actually happen.
The subject is US healthcare, but when the general health metrics in Europe are better than those in the US while US per capita spending is much larger, bring up socialism.
Debate one day? Good luck with the GOP repealing Obamacare without a replacement while touting itself the party of healthcare.
I don’t know what the US public’s response to cutting social security would be.
Speaking of No.1 in business, how about that $300 million in assistance to SK Batteries for construction of a new plant? It works out to nearly $150,000 per average $40,000 a year ($20/hr) job. Exclude a few dozen of the highest paying jobs, and the average is more likely $19 / hr. That’s only a few dollars more than minimum wage in some states, but paying 3.5 years of the average wage for not very well-paying jobs is why Georgia is No.1 for business.
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt–politics/what-did-georgia-promise-win-korean-battery-plant/VOFQc9fmGXvvjzIX7Ocm2M/
Speaking of good deals for taxpayers, Cobb County’s 2018 cost for Suntrust Stadium was $25 million, including $5.8 million from the general fund. But hey, the Braves paid $8.4 million, and besides, Cobb Schools got $6.5 million from sales and property taxes, so doing the math it’s a net positive.
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt–politics/stadium-brings-million-for-schools-remains-cost-taxpayers/kV6x2ry4gZoPaXtjbdMVkJ/
What is the Beto O’Rourke bashing supposed to accomplish? O’Rourke is far from the least qualified person to run for president, even if you limit it to the Democratic side, and similarly wouldn’t be the least qualified to win (again even if limited to Democrats). There is also a line of thought that determining qualifications for president shouldn’t be a matter of seeing who has the most “job experience” boxes checked on a resume as choosing a president isn’t akin to hiring a middle manager for a large corporation or a bureaucrat for a state agency. Would Jimmy Carter, John Kennedy and Barack Obama have gotten elected under this nonsense? Or to put it another way, why not just go ahead and give it to Joe Biden because no one else comes close to matching the resume of a 6 term senator and 2 term vice president?
If the real reason for bringing out the sharp knives against O’Rourke is wanting a female or minority at the top of the ticket, fine come out and say it and end it with the increasingly personal dog whistle and innuendo stuff, as well as gaffes that are certainly no worse than the racial trash that team Clinton shoveled at Barack Obama for months in 2008 (you know, the stuff that motivated Jordan Peele to write “Get Out”). The reason is that the ticket is going to need the votes of lots of O’Rourkes to win 18 months from now. The gender gap – more than anything the Russians did – is what cost Clinton the election in 2016. If stuff like this continues – because we know that as soon as O’Rourke is eliminated this kind of ire will just move on to the next target – that gap will be even bigger in 2020.
Not sure what Beto bashing you are referring to. I haven’t seen anything directed at him that all the other candidates haven’t or will eventually face. Looks normal to me.
He’s a bit of an “it” boy right now, so he’s getting a lot of attention. He probably needs to so he can build his name recognition. Cory Booker on the other hand seems to be flying low to me, which I like- as long as he’s got good campaign staff lined up. You don’t want to go into something like this with the seeds and stems of consultants.
Since I like graphs…
https://www.axios.com/stock-buybacks-increased-2018-apple-3ff90545-53f7-41e2-b774-d78ae24ec9af.html
Arugula is a trendy, fancy-pants fad green. It doesn’t taste as good as spinach and it’s harder to harvest than kale, cabbage or lettuce. I do think it’s very cool that we are having discussions about the rising tides of produce though!
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) issued the following statement after being chosen to serve as a co-chair of the Congressional Fragrance Caucus for the 116th Congress:
..Last summer, I had the pleasure of attending the ribbon cutting ceremony for Arylessence’s new state-of-the-art facility in Marietta, which is vital to the fragrance industry and has become an integral part of our Georgia economy. This billion-dollar industry supports thousands of American jobs and is a global economic force, yet its foundation is built upon small business ideals that foster innovation. Serving on this bi-partisan caucus will allow me to help strengthen the working relationship between the industry, its regulators, and Congress in a way that will benefit all Americans. I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside this innovative industry.”
“The Congressional Fragrance Caucus is comprised of two co-chairs: a Republican and a Democrat, and several other members from the House of Representatives. The caucus will hold occasional briefings on topics of mutual interest, such as: fragrance companies and the U.S. economy, the connection between STEM education and the science-based needs of this sector, and the impact of global trade policy on the importation of the raw materials and ingredients the industry depends upon.”
https://loudermilk.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1676
Congratulations to my soon to be congressperson.