In response to those losses, insurers have raised premiums, narrowed coverage, dropped customers, and even entirely withdrawn from some states.
In Georgia, insurers lost money on homeowners’ insurance in five of the last seven years. In 2023 alone, the state was affected by 14 separate billion-dollar disasters, more than any state except Texas. Georgia is in the top 10 states for adverse effects from climate change like extreme heat, drought, wildfires, inland and coastal flooding. The Insurance Information Institute released statistics showing the national average for home insurance premiums as $1272. Numbers from the Insurance Information Institute, Georgia, was almost $100 more expensive at $1362. Georgia experienced the 7th highest hike in home insurance premiums in 2022. 
What’s the Soil and Water Commission (SWCC)?
Georgia formed the SWCC--with a mission to protect, conserve and improve the soil and water resources--in the 1930s, during the dust bowl era, to educate farmers on soil conservation techniques. The SWCC comprises 40 Soil & Water Conservation Districts in 159 counties, and each county has at least two supervisors on their District Board of Supervisors. In our district, one of the two supervisors is elected and one is appointed. Forsyth is part of the Upper Chattahoochee River District of the SWCC, which includes Forsyth, Hall, Dawson, White, and Habersham counties. Historically, the counties have been heavily agricultural, and as a result, the district focused on farming and rural issues. However, the land in Forsyth is now primarily residential and commercial, and yet Forsyth’s representation on the board has not changed with the times. Today, we need the District to support the majority of residents. Since its inception our district has and continues to be supervised exclusively by farmers and has focused on the needs of farmers. These supervisors are excellent representatives of the agricultural industry, but they do not represent the reality of present day Forsyth County. Although the mission of the SWCC was originally to help farmers conserve their land and water, this has changed and the mission now is to serve all people in the State. For example, one of the responsibilities of the SWCC is to review and approve Erosion and Sediment Control Plans for construction projects. The plans show the construction companies how to prevent erosion from the area of construction. These plans are very important in counties like Forsyth where extensive development is occurring. Without these plans, and their implementation, our streams would be muddy and clogged with sediments. At the last district meeting (May 2024), Forsyth county had 21 plans approved, compared to a total of only 11 for the other four counties combined. Forsyth is different from most of the rest of the SWCC’s districts. Relevant Expertise Needed for Rapidly Developing County Virtually all of the other work being done by the Upper Chattahoochee River District is related to farming. They are supporting programs such as feral swine control, no-till farming, fire watch programs for north GA counties, small farm training programs, and work by the University of Georgia extension program for farmers. These programs do not generally have direct applicability to residential or commercial developments in Forsyth. Only about 10% of Forsyth County land is farmland, and as can be observed by driving through the County (and shown by US Dept of Agriculture statistics), that percentage is steadily decreasing. Lakes and rivers now occupy the same percentage of the land as farms. The majority of the land in the County is residential, commercial and industrial. These types of land often need to install water detention/sediment retention facilities to collect runoff from the land and protect our waterways. Currently, our District does not have any programs on how to manage the detention/retention facilities. However, other districts with large percentages of suburban/urban land have developed programs to help people manage their facilities. Our district needs to implement programs to help with these facilities and the SWCC staff is ready to help us but we need representation to put our county’s changing needs on the table. Let Nature Do its Job Another technical area being ignored by our district is natural methods to help control flooding and stream flow. This might include measures such as vegetative stream bank protection or reintroducing beavers who are natural dam builders. The beavers can help improve the environment of streams, and the dams help minimize flooding during heavy rainfall events. Again, the SWCC staff is ready to help us with these types of programs, but we need someone on the commission to bring our needs to their attention. Other areas where the District could help is training/guidance for HOAs on the use of herbicides and fertilizers, or plantings that can help stabilize slopes on developed land. The District must expand its membership to include people with appropriate technical backgrounds, representing homeowners and commercial interests. Currently the Upper Chattahoochee River District is represented by 9 people, all with farming-related backgrounds. There is one open seat in Forsyth. Our district needs someone with a desire and expertise to represent the interests of the majority of the County. The Forsyth County Democrats are supporting Roger Pennifill (www.rogerforcleanwater.com ) in his bid for this non-partisan seat. He has over 40 years’ experience in environmental and erosion control projects and will work for the benefit of the residents of the County.
Did You Know: Climate Change Hits Home
Did You Know: Soil and Water Conservation Commission
In effect, if a voter chooses to submit an absentee ballot in a drop box, it is accepted, but if they choose to hand it to an election worker in person, they will have to provide an additional ID or the ballot is classified as “provisional” which requires further checks. This comes on the heels of the SEB’s recent rule change that allows boards to require “reasonable information” before certifying, without any definition of the term or its timing.
Given Georgia’s pivotal swing state status, SEB efforts to sow doubt in the election process is no surprise, as reported in a recent Kicker. Perhaps surprising is that the sessions have drawn large audiences (both in person and online) and national news coverage. Even many state Republicans disapprove of the SEB’s actions and of the former president calling the three members out by name at a recent rally, put even greater, unwelcome, scrutiny on Georgia. In response to the SEB’s attempts to re-litigate the 2020 Fulton County vote, Attorney General Chris Carr has said he refuses to use his office to do so. Noteworthy is that the former president’s allies are known to be behind seemingly-local efforts to remove voters from rolls and purposely create disruption before the November election. Put together, these actions appear designed to create delay and chaos, in the event the former president loses, with the likely ultimate goal of stopping the certification altogether. On a more hopeful note, the SEB voted against advancing a rule to require the county election boards to use paper ballots–a persistent, baseless far-right demand that inaccurately suggests counting thousands of pieces of paper under tight deadlines is akin to a bank audit. They refuse to acknowledge that the existing forms of reconciliation—done hourly as well as at the end of every voting day-- are accurate. On Tuesday, the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials (GAVREO) issued a press release calling on the SEB to stop passing new rules so close to the election. What Next: “Can’t We All Get Along?” Election deniers frequently suggest that what they are pushing for is simply election security–what everyone of any party should want– that what they are doing is reasonable. This approach might lull voters who are not paying close attention into agreeing, but our elections have been secure and the processes have worked cleanly and effectively. It is only a small, well-funded group who is trying to disrupt what has worked and they hide their effort under a veneer of “can’t we all just get along.” Disingenuous at best, dishonest at worst. Bad actors hope no one is paying attention. Pay attention. Go to the Forsyth County Board of Elections meetings. Make public comments. Keep track of the SEB meetings–write in your comments or even appear in person. Don’t let anyone think you’re not paying attention, because your vote matters.
The CBO study estimates that the present and future immigration surge will add $1.2 trillion to federal revenue from 2024 to 2034. Income taxes and payroll taxes paid by immigrants account for the majority of that increase, with the boosted economic activity that the new population brings also stimulating the economy and as a result, producing greater tax revenues.
A logical question is whether the benefits and services the Federal government provides to these newcomers cost us more than the $1.2 trillion in revenue? Actually no – while the forecasted amount of costs is $177 billion, which sounds like an enormous number if you see it in isolation – it is dwarfed by the $1.2 trillion in increased revenue. How about the effect of immigrants on the labor market? Aren’t immigrants stealing our jobs? It is true that most of the immigrants entering the country are under 55 and likely to enter the labor force; however, even with the surge we have been experiencing at our southern border in recent years, the current unemployment rate stands at only 4.3%. Big picture: a larger labor force drives production, economic growth, and revenues as those people both produce more goods and services and also consume, driving up GDP as well. In addition, with baby boomers retiring, more workers are needed to keep our economy going. What happens if we suddenly remove our undocumented immigrants from the picture, as mass deportation appears to be the policy of the GOP and Trump? As highlighted in the last edition of The Kicker, such a move would create massive labor shortages in construction, agriculture and food production, vital industries in Georgia. Let’s bring it in for a closer look at our state of Georgia. How does the increase in immigration affect our state economy? Let's first look at the stats: Georgia has a large community of immigrants, nearly half of whom are naturalized citizens. About 10.8% of the state’s residents are foreign-born, immigrants make up 14.3% of Georgia's labor force and support the state’s economy in construction, manufacturing, agriculture, general and professional services. They account for 20.7% of entrepreneurs, and 21.4% of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) workers. As millions of baby boomers age, the need for physicians, nurses and health aids has become critical and the immigrant community in Georgia is helping to fill the need, comprising 14.4% of nurses and 17.2% of health aids. Immigrants are an integral part of the entrepreneurial spirit of Georgia. They make up roughly 20% of this community and contribute $3.4 billion in total business income for the state. As a whole, with a total spending power of $38.6 billion, they pay $4.6 billion in state and local taxes, contribute $5.2 billion to social security and $1.4 billion to Medicare. Immigrants ARE NOT a drag on Medicaid Important to note though is that Georgia only provides for emergency care and labor & delivery for undocumented immigrants and non-qualified aliens. The only “qualified aliens” who receive full Medicaid benefits under Georgia law are natural-born citizens (children born to immigrant parents here on U.S. soil) and unaccompanied minors who are under the supervision of the state. As highlighted in the 2nd edition of The Kicker, Georgia is one of ten remaining states that has not expanded Medicaid eligibility – if it had, over 400,000 more Georgians would now be eligible for Medicaid coverage. If Georgia expanded Medicaid to people with incomes up to 138% of the poverty level, the federal government would provide an additional $1.2 billion in funding over two years. As neighbors, business owners, taxpayers, and workers, immigrants are an integral part of Georgia’s diverse and thriving communities and make extensive contributions that benefit all.
This fact has made our county notable to many people wanting to raise their families here, including the immigrant community. Immigrants are moving to Forsyth in large numbers because of the high quality schools, wanting to raise their children in a family-friendly, education-focused community like any American.
According to a recent US Census, Forsyth has the fastest growing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in Metro Atlanta, having tripled the population of Asian residents in the last 10 years. As a result, Forsyth County Schools (FCS) are now a minority-majority school system. And with this, FCS has seen many positive changes. As noted in this AJC article, Indian families typically have high expectations in education and technology offerings in local schools. Not surprisingly Forsyth has seen an uptick of AP and IB classes and more STEM-focused learning. Long time teacher and Democratic BOE candidate for District 3 Debbie Stair agrees. As a 27- year teacher in Forsyth schools, Ms. Stair has seen the impact of immigration on the community – to our benefit. She says the schools have risen up to meet the standard requested by parents. “When we first started getting many AAPI students in our classes, we had a lot of training and our principal was sensitive to how parents wanted the best for their kids. In their home countries they had to compete to get into high school and learning this gave us teachers an understanding that even in the 1st grade there was a push for excellence.” Excellence comes in many forms and in the 1st grade it came in the form of more transparency. Ms. Stair explained how teachers started sending home more detailed information of what was being done in the classroom and gave suggestions of what to do at home or over the summer. This type of communication not only satisfied immigrant families but served those who have lived in the community ongoing too as they could see how the evolution of the classroom population brought new benefits and a standard of excellence for all students. Another impact of immigration in our schools is that Ms. Stair saw how everyone really enjoyed the new festivals that the schools hosted, as well as the new food offerings in the cafeteria. For example, the lunch room manager met with parents to discuss recipes and ways to develop new meals to serve throughout the school year. “Broadly speaking, immigration is a positive for our schools.” Candidate Stair explains. “It helped bring the schools up to the level they are now.” She finds our diverse schools to be beneficial to all students, and to hear people talking about how they don’t want DEI, she feels that hampers learning and “does not represent who we are.” Having a growing immigrant community does mean having a more diverse approach to teaching, including a need to incorporate more ESOL funding for teachers. ESOL (English as a Second Language) is defined by the State of Georgia as “an educational support program to assist English Learners (ELs) overcome language barriers and participate in schools’ educational programs.” There are now 69 languages represented in our schools, and the 2024/2025 FCS Budget shows the impact of the growth. The school system will be adding 2.5 full time ESOL teachers to handle the influx of students. Data shows the immigrant community has made Forsyth a better place to prosper and is here to stay, but the Republican members on the Board of Education don’t seem to be facing this reality. In the past couple of years we’ve seen Republican efforts to ban books, shut down DEI and SEL programs at schools, and whitewash American history. In doing so, they are denying children the chance to learn about one another from very different perspectives. This harms all children, as those graduating from Forsyth County Schools are aiming for top-notch college programs and jobs where people from all over the world interact. American tradition is interwoven with immigration and always will be. Candidate for BOE Debbie Stair has seen first-hand how embracing new immigration has helped our community in education, and it seems Forsyth County Schools has too, as seen through its budgetary plans. Republicans running on a platform that denies this broader access to learning will only narrow opportunities for all of us, especially our children.
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October 2024
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