10/31: FIVE QUESTIONS interview with economist Alan Essig

[Andy Brack -- bettersouth.org]

Greetings from Charleston,

Attached is our latest FIVE QUESTIONS interview on Southern public policy with a Southern leader.  In this interview, Georgia economist Alan Essig talks about what Southern states can do to improve their financial positions through modernizing tax codes, investing in education and closing corporate loopholes.  Essig is founding executive director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute in Atlanta, Ga.

• VIEW ONLINE:  http://www.bettersouth.org OR http://www.thinksouth.org

Please feel free to reprint or reproduce.  We have attached the interview as an easy-to-read PDF file and as an unformatted Word file to make it easy to use if you want.


AN EXCERPT FROM THE INTERVIEW

When CEOs such as Bill Gates say that education outweighs tax incentives, states should take note.  A talented workforce is an economic development tool that rivals any tax incentive program, and that is where we need to focus our efforts.

-- Economist Alan Essig

ABOUT THE FIVE QUESTIONS SERIES
 
The Center for a Better South’s Five Questions project is an online interview series that allows Center staff members to pose challenging questions to Southern leaders for their views on how to deal with public policy issues. 
 
Republication encouraged.  Media organizations are encouraged to reprint the Five Questions interview on editorial pages to stimulate conversation and provide people living in the South with a new way of looking at things.  No reprint permission is needed, but the Center would appreciate informal e-mail notification of any reprints.  Please contact us at:  in...@bettersouth.org for any questions or comments.

If you have any questions, please reply to this email.  Also, if you publish the interview, we'd appreciate a tear sheet.

Best,

Andy Brack

______________
Andy Brack
Center for a Better South
http://www.bettersouth.org

Visit our new blog:  www.thinksouth.org

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The Center for a Better South is a new pragmatic think tank dedicated to developing progressive ideas, policies and information for thinking leaders who want to make a difference in the American South.