Our next elected leaders: From ideas to reality

Enduring election seasons is similar to sitting in an air-conditioned theater on a sweltering day. Doing so, for a precious few hours, locks away the real world’s heat, noise and problems.

It’s easy to be captivated by the drama of political theater as candidates parry and traipse around, over, under and through the issues of the day. Mileage will vary on how closely their discourse tracks against real, or perceived, predicaments.

Eventually, though, reality should trump political drama. So, with important follow-on elections scheduled in coming weeks and months, we humbly suggest here that last Tuesday’s primary victors hang up their theatrical garb for a bit and in coming days offer comprehensive, detailed, workable solutions for the biggest challenges facing Georgia and its people.

If that doesn’t happen before election machines are carted back to polling places, our state stands a greater risk of descending into the ranks of the nation’s also-rans — or worse.

The Atlanta region and the rest of the state desperately need smart, courageous, game-changing leaders to address the manifold problems that will hobble Georgia as we struggle out of hard times unseen since the Great Depression.

No refresher course is needed to identify the biggest worriments. They are readily apparent after even a few stops along the campaign trail. Among them are:

● Jump-starting businesses to create jobs, in a time when a tithing portion of Atlantans and Georgians are unemployed. Adding jobs was the fervent goal of a group that turned out in Cordele recently for a groundbreaking at the site of a terminal that will transfer shipping containers from trains to trucks for final transport to businesses within a day’s drive. These types of investments, and the hopes riding upon them, are playing out in various ways around Georgia.

● Adequately funding public schools that must then use precious dollars wisely to deliver graduates prepared for the Georgia, and world, of tomorrow.

● Reinforcing and enhancing the roads and rails that should efficiently speed people and products around Atlanta and across the state.

● Reaching a mutually beneficial, multivariate solution to our long-flowing water crisis.

Addressing these challenges will be neither easy, simple nor quick. And it’s less likely to happen at all if candidates do little more than frequently chant poll-tested sound bites and engage in internecine rivalries or partisan attacks. Blaming Washington’s profligate spending for all woes will distract attention from homegrown problems, but will not solve them.

Georgia’s biggest problems addressable by state government are green — not red, or blue. With a state constitutional mandate to make budget numbers balance, Georgia’s next leaders will undoubtedly make do with less for a long while.

Doing so well will require much more than just saying our problems will subside if we but cut taxes further.

The fallacy in that oversimplified tactic should have become apparent as Atlanta’s business and civic leaders — far from a tax-happy lot — pleaded year after year for what was, in effect, permission to tax ourselves to pay for transportation improvements. Thankfully, the General Assembly and Gov. Sonny Perdue produced such a measure earlier this year. That may stave off the resurgence of car-battering gravel roads that’s being seen in other states thanks to strapped budgets. Which is to say that we can either pay now, in targeted, forward-thinking investment, or we can pay indirectly, and less efficiently, in lost hours, increased auto repair costs and wasted fuel spent navigating congested, inadequate roads.

It’s true, yes, that if Georgia is to succeed as a beacon for businesses, we should keep our tax burden as light as possible. Doing that the right way requires a comprehensive approach, not piecemeal hacking through the years.

To address the latter, the General Assembly wisely created a reform council this year to study Georgia’s tax code. We hope their work produces a more rational tax system. That will do more to keep Georgia competitive than periodic, politically driven cuts.

That type of step-back examination, coupled with innovation, courage and a see-it-through administrative ability, is what’s needed in Georgia’s next leaders.

Continually oversimplifying matters or punting on real solutions will hinder our Georgia.

For prosperity’s sake and our children’s future, those who would represent us should begin now to speak fully and often of how to realistically solve problems. Only then can voters make informed choices.

If that does not happen, this state may well falter badly in the rough-and-tumble race of capitalism that continually declares victors and vanquished alike among cities, counties, states and nations.

Andre Jackson, for the Editorial Board

Atlanta Forward: We look at major issues Atlanta must address in order to move forward as the economy recovers.

Look for the designation “Atlanta Forward,” which will identify these discussions.