Below is the pledge by the Libertarian candidate for Governor of Georgia Andrew Hunt that was referenced in the debate last night.
All candidates for office need to clearly state what they want to achieve or people should not vote for them.
Any candidate should make a pledge like I have below or not even be considered. I am committed to a government by the People and for the People, and increasing the following 10 standings (and others) will measure this. I have not sold out to special interest groups so each of us have to work and spread the words to others; all must Vote this November 4th and hunt for Hunt on the ballot!
I, Andrew Hunt, hereby pledge to raise Georgia’s rankings by at least 10 states in our bottom 10 list, or I will not run for reelection! People need to provide quality leadership or get out of the way for others to do a better job. Here is what we have at the end of Deal’s crony deals:
1. The most corrupt state with many ethical issues
2. Highest unemployment
3. High poverty
4. Poor education
5. Expensive health care
6. 9th highest income tax rate
7. Deal ‘limited’ government increased tax revenues by over 2 billion dollars
8. High incarceration rates
9. $1500 loss to middle class family during Deal’s term
10. Terrible Atlanta traffic
Hunt Quote Fact Check
Other notable comments from the debate that caught my attention. (I will edit to add the exact quotes later when I get a debate transcript or video)
He made one comment about the U.S. spending more per student and getting less so I decided to do a fact check.
Numerous sites backed up his assertion for example the National Center for Education as well as the World Bank. In an article by The Atlantic magazine called
American Schools vs. the World: Expensive, Unequal, Bad at Math they reported “More than half a million 15-year-olds around the world took the Programme for International Student Assessment in 2012. The test, which is administered every three years and focuses largely on math, but includes minor sections in science and reading, is often used as a snapshot of the global state of education. The results, published today, show the U.S. trailing behind educational powerhouses like Korea and Finland.
Even the top students in the United States are behind: This year, the PISA report offered regional scores for Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Florida. Massachusetts, which is a high-achieving U.S. state and which averaged above the national PISA score, is still two years of formal schooling behind Shanghai.
The U.S. ranks fifth in spending per student. Only Austria, Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland spend more per student. To put this in context: the Slovak Republic, which scores similarly to the U.S., spends $53,000 per student. The U.S. spends $115,000. The PISA report notes that, among OECD countries, “higher expenditure on education is not highly predictive of better mathematics scores in PISA.”
So Dr. Hunt was correct that the U.S. spends far more on average than most other countries in the world but gets far worse results.
Another comment that really caught my attention were his remarks about the high rate of poverty in Georgia coupled with high state income taxes. Georgia’s Individual Income Tax System Georgia’s personal income tax system consists of six brackets and a top rate of 6%. That rate ranks 23rd highest among states levying an individual income tax. Georgia actually will start taxing people as soon as they reach $$750 and the highest rate starts at 6% with a $2,700 exemption. This differs from many other states. Minnesota for example sets $24,680 as their lowest tax bracket for state income tax. You can see all 50 states income taxes and brackets here. This would appear to create an undue burden on the poorest of the poor. The fact that Georgia has six tax brackets and the highest stops at $7,000 seems very inequitable to middle and lower class but very favorable to upper income individuals.
So this assertion would also pass the test in the truthometer.
If you want other comments checked, please leave your suggestions in the comments.