Did You Know? July 11th

• Consumers often react emotionally, not rationally, to price swings. So even though inflation is down, anxiety and annoyance about everyday commodities prevails. 
  

• Georgia’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is the largest freshwater swamp in North America and known for its biodiversity. The Trump Administration removed the protections of the Clean Water Act, and now the Refuge is under threat of mining by an Alabama firm that wants to unearth titanium dioxide (which makes toothpaste and Oreo creme white). 
  

• Project 2025 addresses the climate crisis by defunding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and repurposing the National Weather Service. Then, Republicans plan to rely on commercial entities for weather forecasts and warnings, commercial entities which may have an interest in denying the climate crisis.
  

• Average home insurance costs in Forsyth have increased between 32% and 54% since 2020, yet we haven't been hit nearly as hard by climate change as other states. Then why the price surge?? Republicans allow lax insurance controls in Georgia. So when insurance companies run into trouble raising rates in tightly-regulated states, the insurance companies offset their costs by raising rates in less-regulated states. 
  

• Because of the SCOTUS Chevron decision, litigation is already in the works to rescind ACA requirements to cover preventative services and protect us from surprise-billing, especially in emergencies. Multiple challenges to the mandate could mean different coverage requirements for preventive care depending on where a consumer lives.
  

• Since 2021, a handful of Forsyth residents have challenged 60,000 Forsyth voters’ eligibility to vote. Of those 60,000 voters, only 790 have been canceled at the county elections level. This represents less than 0.2%, thus wasting Forsyth taxpayer dollars since many would have been processed by the GA Sec of State systems.
  

• The GA State Election Board voted this week to advance a proposal that would allow local election board members to require a review of an abundant amount of documents before they certify this fall’s Presidential Election. This could allow partisans to not certify election results.