Georgia’s budget should reflect the priorities of all Georgians – it should incentivize well-paying jobs and promote the health, safety, and welfare of its residents. The tax dollars of hard-working Georgians must be used to the benefit of those same taxpayers.

A strong economy focuses on 

• Growing good jobs and preparing a strong workforce while attracting more companies to do business here. Paying great wages for those jobs is key. 
• Investing more in infrastructure, including transportation, internet service, and technology – things that make life easier for all residents. 
• Efficiently serving Georgians. Hard-working Georgians deserve to move up the economic ladder. By making it easier for families to put food on the table and have a roof over their head, we ensure prosperity for all.

Few things are more important than your health and the health of your family. Insurance premiums are high in Georgia, healthcare is hard to come by in rural areas, and too many Georgians cannot afford health insurance. 

The good news is, there are remedies currently available to help solve these issues. Billions of federal tax dollars that you have already paid, tax dollars that would provide hundreds of thousands more Georgians with health insurance, should be rejected no longer . With more people insured private premiums decrease and more people get the preventative and rehabilitative healthcare they need. 

Mental health is as important as physical health. We must have programs in place that educate against stigma, encourage mental health care, and reduce the premiums placed on these hard-to-find services. 

The government has no business in your doctor’s office or in the privacy of your home. It certainly has no ground to infringe on the personal decisions you make about your health. 

Education is the key to a brighter future. Teachers are the backbone of our education system. Our education system helps produce intelligent, socialized, productive members of society. They help mold future members of our technology, engineering and labor forces, and other critical fields. 

Unfortunately, Georgia schools have not been fully funded for 18 of the last 20 years, lax gun safety laws create an apprehensive learning environment, and teachers are leaving the profession in large numbers because they are under-paid, overworked, and micromanaged by legislation that prevents them from teaching historically objective facts.

The state of Georgia must proactively invest in education. Investing in our students now will prepare them for the road ahead, giving them the tools necessary to support themselves, cooperate with others, and understand history’s mistakes and how to avoid them in the future. 

Let’s provide our schools, and teachers and staff who run them, with the resources they need to do all the things we expect of them. Let’s respect the rights of all students regardless of race, sexual preference, or gender, and encourage others to do the same. As a responsible gun owner, I believe we must take the necessary steps to prevent gun violence from ever reaching our schools and communities. Our children deserve to learn, play, and grow up in a safe environment. Our families deserve it. Our neighbors deserve it. We all deserve it!