Archive for the ‘Economy’ Category

Moderated by Rick Badie

Why should some $300 million in hotel-motel taxes be put toward a $1 billion new stadium for the Atanta Falcons? Today, a state representative answers that question and spells out the economic benefits of a new nest for the Dirty Birds. And a state senator questions public subsidies for privately owned sports teams.

Move forward with new stadium

By Ron Stephens

Boasting an NFL-leading record, an MVP candidate and a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the Falcons aren’t just hot right now, they are on fire. I’m thrilled to see our team succeed on the field.

The Falcons are in negotiations with the Georgia World Congress Center Authority to build a new stadium by 2017, when the Falcons’ lease at the Georgia Dome could expire. The new building would not only house the Falcons, but other events.

The stadium project is important to retaining Georgia’s position as one of the nation’s premier tourism destinations. Whether or not we replace the Georgia Dome …

Continue reading Public funding for new sports stadium? »

Moderated by Rick Badie

Rebuilding, or maintaining, trust in any relationship can be difficult. Banks, given the industry’s financial crisis, must work to restore customer trust, thwart negative perceptions and deflect criticisms. Today, the president of the Georgia Bankers Association writes about our state’s financial community, while a business school professor challenges the industry to display more transparency.

Banks, bankers take public trust seriously

By Joe Brannen

The 278 FDIC-insured banks in Georgia depend on, ask for, and earn the trust of Georgians every day.

We live in an era when opinions are often driven by the most sensational news story, the last lawsuit, the most vicious tweet, and the ranting of too many public figures. Recently, a lot of that has been directed at banks.

While criticisms of some banks are well-covered, well-known and in some cases even deserved, there are many ways banks have performed that are trustworthy.

Successful banks take the …

Continue reading Banks, bankers: Where’s the trust? »

Moderated by Rick Badie

Higher menu prices. Fewer work hours and jobs. Zero expansion and possible closings. This, writes a local franchiser, will be the potential impact in the restaurant industry of health mandates under the Affordable Care Act. But the co-founder of a workers’ advocacy group suggests that businesses can profit by taking care of personnel.

Repeal Obamacare

By Aziz Hashim

More than three years into our jobless “recovery,” 12.1 million Americans are still out of work. Nearly 23 million have stopped looking or can’t find full-time work.

The labor participation rate is 63.6 percent, the same level we saw in 1981. Employers are only adding slightly more jobs per month needed to keep pace with normal labor-force expansion.

So why did the unemployment rate go down below 8 percent last month? In large part, due to an increase in part-time work. While the drop in unemployment may seem completely positive, there is an underlying problem for small business …

Continue reading Eateries facing a plate of health care issues »

Moderated by Rick Badie

Your business plan is gathering dust. You feel like you’re ready, but a question lingers: Is now a good time to start a business? Data show more businesses are started during and after recessions than in prosperous times. So go for it, writes a motivational speaker and owner of a web development firm. An economic expert says it’s unwise to fixate on start-up cycles.

Commenting is open below.

By Marianne Carlson

Starting a new business is not for the faint of heart. For those who possess the entrepreneurial spirit, though, now might be the perfect time to begin a venture.

In the midst of the worst recession in decades and the most dismal recovery since the Great Depression, it might seem prudent to postpone a business launch. But there are some compelling reasons why now is actually a really good time to start a new business.

Beginning a business venture in lean times will force the entrepreneur to pay very close attention to planning, market …

Continue reading Good time to start a business? »

Credit card debt has dropped here and in other regions. Likewise, consumer borrowing has dipped. Is this the emergence of the disciplined consumer, the “new normal” in spending habits? For now, yes, writes an Equifax executive. A psychology professor laments that we still rely too heavily on plastic. And a state retail expert gives a holiday sales forecast.

Moderated by Rick Badie

The new normal for now

By Trey Loughran

After significant heart-related issues in 2010, President Bill Clinton swore off his beloved cheeseburgers and doughnuts and turned to a vegan diet. Much like our 42nd president, the American economy experienced a dramatic health crisis during the last four years, putting it into a financial version of intensive care. As the U.S. economy navigates a slow, gradual recovery, American consumers seem to be adopting a financial diet of their own.

But is this an indication of a new normal where disciplined consumers can (or will) be able to sustain that …

Continue reading The new normal: disciplined shoppers »

Moderated by Rick Badie

A popular film industry tax credit has led some to call Georgia the Hollywood of the South. The director of the state film office calls the tax incentive a necessity in a competitive market. A tax analyst suggests it’s time for all states to roll up the red carpet and end subsidies for such a profitable industry.

Tax incentives fuel filmmakers’ interest

By Lee Thomas

Last week, the Georgia Department of Economic Development released the state film office’s fiscal year 2012 economic impact numbers for the film industry — $3.1 billion. The state is currently hosting 32 film and television shows, from home improvement shows to scripted dramas and major feature films.

In February 2007, we had one project filming here: the MTV reality show, “Yo Momma.” The economic impact for that fiscal year was $244 million. How did the state’s film and television industry grow over 1,100 percent in five years? First, by having a proactive legislature and …

Continue reading Georgia: Hollywood of the South? »

Moderated by Rick Badie

How valid is the statement that 47 percent of Americans pay no income tax? Very true, writes one of today’s guest writers, who says the number of non-payers sits at an all-time high with Southern states on top. Georgia has the second-highest percentage of non-payers at 42.5 percent, next to Mississippi’s 44.5 percent. And a local fiscal analyst says numbers are often cherry-picked and misused to bolster the argument that too many people depend on government. He suggests that everybody has “skin in the game” when it comes to taxes.

Commenting is open below following Alan Essig’s column.

By Scott Hodge

It may have been “inelegant,” but Mitt Romney’s comments about the 47 percent of Americans who pay no income taxes has ignited an overdue conversation about who should pay income taxes and how much our lawmakers should use the IRS to deliver social benefits.

Georgia, like many Southern states, finds itself squarely in the middle of this …

Continue reading Southerners much of the 47 percent »

Moderated by Rick Badie

The struggles of some shopping malls here (such as Gwinnett Place in Duluth and Southlake in Morrow) and across the nation have been well-documented. Shopping centers can struggle financially when demographics change, anchor stores pack up and move, specialty shops lack appeal or spending patterns reflect a dull economy. Today, a mall real estate specialist and a local revitalization executive weigh the challenges and the future facing these retail destinations.

By Michael P. Glimcher

The death of the mall has been proclaimed over and over. Many thought it couldn’t weather the recession or would crumble from online retail. However, to say the mall will die is to underestimate that consumers are resilient, the mall is adaptable and people love to shop.

Malls remain highly-valued fortress-like assets. Mall real estate investment trusts are able to draw equity from top institutional investors attracted to stable cash flows from long-term leases that …

Continue reading Are malls dying? »

Moderated by Rick Badie

The American Dream has morphed into a nightmare for many metro Atlanta homeowners. Some observers, like the college law professor who writes today, question whether homeownership is all it’s cracked up to be and suggest the nation rethink its quest for owning homes. An executive for a nonprofit credit counseling agency, however, challenges such notions and calls homeownership a solid, long-term financial investment.

Home ownership has risks

By Mechele Dickerson

Many Americans believe that you haven’t achieved the American Dream until you own a home.

For decades, the U.S. has enacted housing policies that advance and heavily subsidize homeownership to make sure people believe the road to riches must end at your own home.

Given the economic realities most Americans currently face, these homeownership beliefs are fundamentally flawed.

Homeownership is said to be a good thing because it makes people thrifty, responsible and financially secure. …

Continue reading Home ownership still a good investment? »

Moderated by Rick Badie

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson has co-sponsored legislation to require federal lending agencies to consider a borrower’s expected energy costs when they underwrite mortgages. The SAVE Act has support from consumer groups and the housing and manufacturing industries. The mortgage banking industry says the profession is regulated enough.

By Todd Raba and Allan Merrill

For those in the housing industry, including home building and mortgage lending, the Great Recession was almost as hard a blow as the Great Depression. The home building and contracting sector — a key source of good blue-collar jobs — saw unemployment rates soar more than twice the national average. It will likely be years before the housing sector fully recovers.

There are signs of hope for home building. New legislation — known as the SAVE (Sensible Accounting to Value Energy) Act — would bring the cost of energy and the value of energy efficiency into the home appraisal/mortgage …

Continue reading SAVE Act »