AJC
AJC

Atlanta Forward: Regional economy

Fumiko Yajima, owner of her vegetable store Suika, swipes a credit card on her Apple Inc. iPad equipped with aa Square credit card-reader at her store in this arranged photograph taken in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. Consumers in Japan paid cash for about 56 percent of their 279 trillion yen of purchases last fiscal year, while 12 percent was paid with plastic, Tokyo-based card company Credit Saison Co. estimates. Photographer: Yuriko Nakao/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Fumiko Yajima

Credit: Yuriko Nakao

Credit: Yuriko Nakao

Fumiko Yajima, owner of her vegetable store Suika, swipes a credit card on her Apple Inc. iPad equipped with aa Square credit card-reader at her store in this arranged photograph taken in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. Consumers in Japan paid cash for about 56 percent of their 279 trillion yen of purchases last fiscal year, while 12 percent was paid with plastic, Tokyo-based card company Credit Saison Co. estimates. Photographer: Yuriko Nakao/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Fumiko Yajima
By Rick Badie
Dec 18, 2013

Today's moderator: Rick Badie

Rick Badie joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as an education reporter in 1997. A South Georgia native, he's covered the region's immigrant communities, was a feature obituary writer and opinion columnist for the AJC's Gwinnett edition.

Call us "transaction alley." Every time you swipe a credit card, you're contributing to a leading industry in our region. Today, an industry executive writes that 70 percent of the nation's credit card purchases are processed in Georgia. Also, the Gwinnett Chamber president touts that county's growing economic ties with South Korea and an upcoming business trip to East Asia. To comment, go to: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-forward/

Today's columnists:

About the Author

Rick Badie
More Stories

Featured

Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

When ICE takes breadwinners, it takes a toll on families ... and on the economy

For immigrant families, brushes with ICE can result in financial precarity that could have implications for the broader economy.

‘I’m a bad kid,’ he told himself. How Georgia’s special ed program failed one child.

Parents find that it's easy to get into the GNETS program, but in some districts, difficult to leave.

‘A lot of blame, but not enough action’: Atlanta leaders lack path to fix jail

Stakeholders across Atlanta and Fulton County grapple with a complex web of issues that contribute to overcrowding, crumbling structure.