Political Rewind: Slowed Economic Recovery Prompts Georgia's Debate Over Best Path, Policy Forward
Tuesday on Political Rewind: Georgia\u2019s economy struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic\u2019s economic slump. According to statistics from the Georgia Chamber, 231,000 Georgians are currently receiving unemployment benefits after being laid off. In a letter, the Georgia Chamber called on state officials to change the benefits unemployed workers currently receive. But labor advocates say suspending assistance would be akin to pulling the rug from under Georgians just as they try to get back on their feet.\n\nIn 2022 election news, Attorney General Chris Car announced he will seek reelection instead of entering the race for Sen. Raphael Warnock\u2019s seat. What does his decision tell us about the landscape of the Republican party?\n\nGov. Brian Kemp signed a measure that assures even more money will be allowed to flow into campaign coffers in Georgia. The new law gives lobbyists and others the freedom to donate unlimited sums to state elected officials, even during legislative sessions.\n\nIn another signing action, Kemp signed the bill that overhauls the state\u2019s pre-Civil War citizen\u2019s arrest statute. Changes to the longstanding law won bipartisan approval after the original prosecutors in the Ahmaud Arbery shooting case declared that the statute protected from prosecution the three men who confronted and killed Arbery.\n\nPanelists:\n\nSam Olens \u2014 Former Georgia Attorney General\n\nMichael Thurmond \u2014 CEO, DeKalb County\n\nTamar Hallerman \u2014 Senior Reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution