Your Tax Money at Work, Or Not

Sunday Solutions — Feb. 23, 2025

Good morning! So, we’re less than a month from St. Patrick’s Day on the coast and things are already turning green: Pollen has arrived. It’s nice to know that while there’s lots of change, some things remain steady — and that’s something to sneeze at. Let’s check out what else is covering our world and coloring how we see it.

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NEWS: HEALTH INSURANCE

Pathways at $86 million: glitches, low participation, inadequate job tracking

This week has been an illustration of The Current’s work to bring our readers in-depth information gathered through journalistic research and processes that are less common now than they once were. We believe deeper dives and explanatory stories set our work apart and give you more power for your own decisions. On Wednesday, the latest piece from editor in chief Margaret Coker, through the ProPublica Local Reporting Network, did just that.

The piece required months of reporting on Georgia’s unique Medicaid waiver plan designed to cover more than 200,000 uninsured citizens and require a work requirement in order to receive health benefits. In short, it’s cost taxpayers $86 million, enrolled 6,500 people and the software is so glitchy that people can’t sign up or verify they are working. The state says it’s all part of a longer-term strategy. Coker’s work is an example of accountability journalism — or just basic consumer reporting. It shows you where your government spends your money and what you get for it. It’s up to you to figure out what you do with that info.

Also, this week from The Current:

• Lawmakers again propose to protect Okefenokee from mining: Two bills look to delay any decision for assessment, land purchases. Mary Landers updates what’s going on while permit process drags on.
• Savannah sues PFAS polluters, seeks water treatment funds: The city is suing a range of companies over contamination of its main water source.
• Memorial Health halts transgender surgeries: 5 things to know: As the state legislature considers several bills to limit health care for trans people, reporter Robin Kemp put together a primer on the state of trans health access now that one Coastal Georgia facility has canceled scheduled procedures.

And, an additional story from Stateline this week discusses how a lawsuit led by 22 states, including Georgia, could wipe out federal medical discrimination protections for all disabled children over conflicts regarding the addition of gender dysphoria to the disabilities list.

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NEWS: COMMUNITY

A somber anniversary

Today we mark the 5th year since the brutal murder of Ahmaud Arbery. The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation invites all to observe 23 seconds of silence at 1:14 p.m. to remember the young Black man killed while out on a jog in Glynn County.

At 5 p.m. today, you can join a national town hall to discuss current state of equality on Facebook, Zoom and YouTube sponsored by the Transformative Justice Coalition. Guests will include Marcus Arbery, Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs and Georgia Rep. Carl Gilliard. Here’s a link if you’d like to join.

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EXPLAINER: GOVERNING

Legislature 101: Most of your Georgia tax money goes to education

This week’s look at the General Assembly’s work is focused on the state budget and where your money is going. The Current’s data reporter, Maggie Lee, finds that while education cuts are coming nationally, Georgia spends a good chunk of change on schools, universities and the technical college system. It also spends money on prisons, and it’s likely to spend even more.

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NEWS: UPDATES

When is inclusion discrimination?

Schools across the country have been notified that they risk losing federal funding if they persist with programs that encourage diversity, equity and inclusion. Chalkbeat, an independent nonprofit journalism group focused on schools, takes a look at the laws, court rulings and the interpretations of them that are driving decisions. This comes at a time when choice, charter and other public schools are sorting through applications for next year’s classes. Read the story here.

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DATA: HEALTH & COMMUNITY

☕ Your second cup: Covid & the divide

Americans throughout our history have always looked to national unity in times of crisis as a point of pride. Just ask anyone who weathered the Great Depression or World War II. But, pride — like blame — is a entity that shifts, twisting on the strengths and weaknesses of the humans involved. The Pew Research Center has released a new look at Covid’s impact, 5 years later, and finds nearly 3 in 4 Americans blame the virus for causing the great chasms in our daily lives and understanding of it all. The same numbers also say it affected them personally. So what did we learn? Read the wide-ranging research for yourself here — it breaks down the impacts on religion, technology, our work and personal health along with policies. See if you agree.

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