House should not pass bill, lest workers suffer
With days to go in the legislative session, there’s a bill alive in the House that contains an unpleasant surprise for any Georgian unlucky enough to lose his job in the future.
Senate Bill 447 cuts the maximum number of weeks of state unemployment compensation from 26 to as few as 12 and no more than 20.
It’s clear that the state’s depleted unemployment trust fund needs recharging.
But as written, SB 447 closes 65 percent of the funding gap through cuts in benefits and only 35 percent through contributions from businesses (according to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute).
That’s after 13 consecutive years of suspended (no payment due) or greatly reduced unemployment taxes.
Surely, there’s a more equitable balance.
On behalf of all workers, including those 55 and over who average 54 weeks of unemployment when they are laid off, we urge the House to reconsider.
Pamela Roshell, AARP Georgia State Director
Anti-abortion easier to demand than realize
Regarding “‘Pro-life’ people should adopt unwanted kids” (Readers write, Opinion, March 22), while I agree with the letter writer that the anti-abortion people should put their money where their mouths are, the problem goes deeper.
If abortion became totally illegal today, in several months all states would need to subsidize prenatal care, job training programs, day care, well-baby visits, immunizations, nutrition programs, parenting classes, good public schools and access to courts to impose child-support payments.
Since the GOP demonizes anyone using public services, I can’t imagine that they’d want to provide all of this.
It’s easy to demand an end to abortions and hope that we go back to “an-aspirin-between-the-knees” child planning, but even 60 years ago, that didn’t work.
What’s harder is giving women the education they need to avoid unwanted pregnancies and the support they need to carry unplanned pregnancies to term.
Unfortunately, that’s the only way that we’ll ever end non-medically necessary abortions.
Caroline Knight, Atlanta
Columnist inspired reader to journalism
Congratulations to the AJC on the excellent coverage of the recent passing of Furman Bisher, whom I considered to be the country’s top sportswriter —bar none.
I started reading Mr. Bisher as a teenager in the 1940s.
His column really turned me on and inspired me to go into journalism.
Mr. Bisher was a great human being (as well as a great writer) and his Thanksgiving column every year was “must reading” in our home.
We will certainly miss him and his beautiful prose.
Joseph Dabney, Atlanta
