Issues too large to stay at home Tuesday

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July 17, 2010

Anonymous The Union-Recorder The Union-Recorder Sat Jul 17, 2010, 08:00 AM EDT

MILLEDGEVILLE — Tuesday is decision day for local residents in the primary races. The ballots cast will decide which candidates come one step closer to representing Baldwin County’s 12th Congressional District, U.S. Senate and who will take the lead on statewide issues in Atlanta.

While the local races won’t heat up until after next week, there’s still a lot that must be decided, and the choices are ones that

mustn’t be taken lightly by voters. Here are just a few reasons why:

• A Georgia Department of Labor report released Thursday indicated that while the state’s unemployment rate fell slightly in June, the number of payroll jobs and job-seekers also declined, indicating new deterioration in the state job market.

• Georgia’s unemployment rate has exceeded that national average for 33 consecutive months.

n A December 2009 report by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation estimates that over the course of their lifetime, Georgia’s high school dropouts will cost taxpayers nearly $5 billion, and that dropouts earn $7,200 less per year than high school graduates.

• Despite a recent uptick, overall state revenue figures continue to come in below projections, which indicates more budget cuts seem to be on the horizon with a projected deficit for Fiscal Year 2012 between $1 billion and $2 billion, according to the Georgia Budget and Policy

Institute.

As these issues directly impact all Georgians, national issues such as the oil spill cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico, two wars and the up and down economy must be addressed in Washington. The issues and concerns facing this state and the nation run the gamut, and how they will be addressed depends largely upon how voters react and respond at the polls.

Fourteen candidates are vying for votes in Tuesday’s primary for governor — seven democrats and seven republicans. Six candidates are seeking the opportunity to represent the 12th Congressional District — four republicans and two democrats. Meanwhile, there are the races for Georgia lieutenant governor, secretary of state, superintendent of schools, attorney general, insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner and labor commissioner. With so many weighty issues to face and so much with regards to the future of our state and nation, it would seem a poor decision to stay at home Tuesday.

Local early voting tallies indicate local voters turned out in increased numbers than expected to cast ballots — in higher numbers than other surrounding areas. Let’s keep this momentum going Tuesday by making conscious and informed decisions at the polls. Let’s buck the trend of voter apathy and make informed voter decisions based on the issues and matters and concerns of the people, not the changing tides of politics. With so much at stake, apathy and lack of involvement must not be an option.

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