Political Corruption in Georgia

If you drive through Atlanta on the way to the beaches in Florida, you might notice the names of individuals on plaques next to the Interstate.  These are not memorials to people who died there. They are names of well-connected Georgia politicians who are not currently incarcerated.

The Georgia legislature does a great job for special interests and emotionally packed unsolvable issues, but not so much for regular taxpayers. We struggle with gridlock and they offer public transit.  But public transit only goes where it goes and that isn’t necessarily where we need to go, so we use cars.

Our roads, highways, sewer systems and water systems are always in disrepair.  Our public schools don’t teach reading, writing or math very well.  Our Police are tasked with catching criminals after a crime has been committed.  Our Fire Departments can prevent the house next door from burning to the ground.  Our EMTs can get you to the hospital, but CPR must start before they arrive.

Most of the 300 to 500 Bills that are considered by the Georgia legislature are for Municipalities and government agencies to enable them to tax and borrow with no constraints. Voters are not allowed to vote on projects, tax rates or Bond sales. This is handled for them by elected and appointed officials.

The primary special interest group that controls legislation is government employees. The next most powerful group are developers and corporations, who want tax holidays and subsidies for “economic development”. These are handed out by appointed Development Authorities for each County and City and rubber-stamped by county commissions and city councils.

The Georgia Municipal Association is the hub of the cabal. They tell the city councils what to pay and they rubber-stamp all recommendations. The “club” includes all government employees in all agencies at all levels. They have a cadre of crony consultants, temp services, lawyers and contractors who magically receive all the projects. They are not the low bidders and rework is routine. The worst form of city government is the “Strong City Manager” version. City councils rubber-stamp everything the city staff wants.

All city and county ordinances are UN Agenda 21 compliant. This includes Land Use, Planning and Zoning.  This is how we get unnecessary on-street bike lanes, multi-use paths, stream buffers, over-designed intersections, tiny house and lot zoning, private property abuse, excessive property easements, no-knock warrants, government seizure of property, conservation easements, eminent domain property seizure beyond roads and utilities, leaky water and sewer systems, poorly designed road and highway systems, high density development, traffic gridlock,

Government is not responsible for education, students are responsible. Government is not responsible for our healthcare, we are responsible for our own healthcare. Government is not responsible for our retirement, we must save for retirement.

Government spends most of its tax revenues on education and healthcare and this needs to be reversed, because the costs are unsustainable. These industries need to be returned to the private sector as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader