Comments on: Atlanta’s small-town vision

By: Frank

Frank — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:21:28 +0000

The bottom line is Atlanta isn’t perfect, but we should dance with the one that brought us here! I am amazed at how much the people in the suburbs knock Atlanta, and then the Atlanta natives don’t do much better! The truth is we are cutting each others throats! Atlanta needs to grow and as it does the rest will benefit also. I think the city center is extremely important to any major urban area.

The suburbs and the city would both be best served if we could work together. The City of Atlanta needs to be viable and strong. The State of Georgia needs Atlanta. Atlanta needs the State of Georgia.

THINK ABOUT IT……..If Atlanta fails, so do the rest of us! If you want to make a change get involved, build , vote, clean, call, whatever, but don’t try to kill the city, we need it!

By: Chuck U. Farlie

Chuck U. Farlie — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:44:16 +0000

I think the Dunwoody area is becoming more and more popular with AJC and other large businesses locating their offices to that area, as well as walkable area, the nice mall, stores, restaurants etc. It seems it could be included as a downtown uptown area.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:11:10 +0000

If it were possible for me to use MARTA I would. The Xpress bus isn’t scheduled with the shift I work in mind. I’ll just keep driving in every day, keep gassing up at the Kroger down home, and eating on campus.

By: Chris Broe

Chris Broe — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:48:59 +0000

I think the trolls on this blog have matured nicely.

By: Daedalus

Daedalus — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:13:25 +0000

Ward. The study on tax imbalance in Georgia focused on the metro Atlanta area compared to the rest of the state. It was performed by a professor at GSU.

However it looks like you want a double-standard. Its OK for the state to take more from Atlanta than it returns but not Cobb or Gwinnett?

Why? As for your claim about city incompetence, sure, there’s some. But in some very big areas Atlanta has performed quite well. For example the sewer project was recently finished on-time and under budget. Judge Shoob even commended the city for its performance.

Your cherry-picking. What about the incompetence at GDOT? Even Perdue said they use enron-style accounting. Why also overlook that the US DOT recently dinged GDOT for mishandling funds? And that mess at DFCACs? Please.

By focusing only on problems in Atlanta –but not at the state level (or even other local governments) you are showing that you have a double-standard. Democrats bad. Conservatives good.

Your as biased as Wooten.

By: Kevrock/Smarty Jones

Kevrock/Smarty Jones — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:40:35 +0000

Paul A welcome to Cobb County. I left Buckhead in the early 90’s. My friends laught at me saying Vinings is redneck, etc…Well I don’t pay high taxes, My cars are not broken into, I do not have a massive homeless problem and Cobb County is a 5 star bonded county…Atlanta is a 1 star…you see the mess….the sad thing is that the status qou have held their own folks down out….Sad….Now all my friends from Buckhead are now moving into my ‘hood and saying FU ATL with a better quality of life and a great skyline…Downtown is 20 minutes…Life is good Paul A come on up! PLUS the women are a lot better looking! That’s if you play with that team.

By: Ward

Ward — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:37:53 +0000

Do you mean to say that the 500,000 folks who live in the city are paying 51% of state taxes? Or maybe you mean the 5 million or so who live in the 8-10 county ‘metro’ area… the same people you want to double tax for not actually living within the city limits. I’m sure Atlanta deserves something for being the economic engine of the state. But the grossly inefficient city bureaucracy needs to learn how to best use their money… or even know how much they even HAVE to begin with… before they start demanding more.

By: Daedalus

Daedalus — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:32:17 +0000

As usual Wooten ignores inconvenient facts to attempt to make his case. This time its the tax policy of the State of Georgie whereby Atlanta pays 51% of the state tax revenue but receives only 37% in return. If this imbalance was only partly remedied (say 45/55 split)and we were allowed to keep our tax revenue we could solve many of the problems Wooten complains about.

And yes, you folks in Savannah, Columbus, Macon, Albany, Tifton, Valdosta, Waycross, and Brunswick need to start paying your fair share of the tax burden instead of sucking tax dollars from metro Atlanta.

By: norman ravitch

norman ravitch — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:13:39 +0000

Atlanta has become the Los Angeles of the South: smog, congestion, poor racial and ethnic relations, a large and dangerous underclass, a small upper class, freeways never empty, streets never safe. A horror, in other words.

By: Winch

Winch — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:42:24 +0000

For the businesses that don’t wish to pay such a tax, go to south Georgia, we would be more than glad to have you. Outside of training and the occasional convention, I never visit Atlanta. Every visit there, I’ve been charged in excess by parking decks and chased and bothered by bums (which might I add are more frightening after dark).

So yes, to all you businesses that might be thinking of leaving because of high taxes, folks in Savannah, Columbus, Macon, Albany, Tifton, Valdosta, Waycross, and Brunswick would be glad to take you in.