Category Archives: Georgia

What Happened to Milton County?

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If you were active in last July’s primary election for Senate District 56, you remember a key issue for all of the candidates: Milton County. For those of you who are not aware of the concept of Milton County, it would essentially cut Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Alpharetta, Roswell and part (maybe all) of Sandy Springs out of Fulton County to create a new Milton County.

Personally, I am not a proponent of Milton County, mostly because it would cut me out, but I do understand the want of those taxpayers in North Fulton to keep their money where they feel it can benefit them.

Over the course of the election season, it appeared that all 3 of the candidates (John Albers, David Belle Isle and Brandon Beach) fully supported the idea of Milton County. After the run-off, those who did not win the seat went on to pursue other important issues, while the Senator-elect was supposedly ‘getting right to work’.

During the election, Albers launched a massive campaign initiative called ‘The Contract for Milton County’ complete with it’s own website, Facebook page and poster-size copy that voters could sign. The Facebook page still exists (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=105925269440670) and it has the link for the website, www.contractformiltoncounty.com, listed, but for some *odd* reason, the website is no longer up. Also available during the election was the VoteAlbers website, but that too is no longer available, you are simply directed to the Senator Albers webpage, which has no mention of Milton County except for a small paragraph stating, ‘Albers supports the recreation of Milton County to include the cities of Roswell, Sandy Springs, Mountain Park, Milton Alpharetta and Johns Creek. The residents of North Fulton have long endured an inequitable relationship with Fulton County government and will make Milton a reality’.

What I found rather interesting during my online search for resources regarding Milton County was a webpage started in April of 2009 called Milton County Rising. (www.miltoncountyrising or http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=69245732854#!/group.php?gid=69245732854&v=wall ). Mr. Albers didn’t create his ‘Contract for Milton County’ until early 2010. Oh the irony.

According to the Facebook page, over 1,500 people signed the contract in 5 days. Clearly this is something that the people of North Fulton wanted their elected official to work towards. I really thought Albers would fight harder for something the people wanted. Thankfully, Albers did propose and pass a bill requiring at least 3 feet of space between bikers and cars. You can see other things Mr. Albers tacked his name onto here: http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/Search.aspx. His bill made it nowhere. And to date, he’s proposed nothing during the special session.

So why hasn’t Mr. Albers delivered? Why isn’t he fighting for Milton County? And what happened to that poster-size copy of the contract? Maybe these are questions we need to ask when November 2012 rolls around.

http://votealbers.com/pdf/Albers_Promotes_Contract_For_Milton_County.pdf

Post Post, Tweet Tweet…Dollars Lost

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With the explosion of social media over the last 5 years, it seems like you can’t see anything or anyone without a reference to Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. Advertisements for products encourage you to “Like” them on Facebook and celebrities want to be “followed” on Twitter. All of these seem like great forms of networking, but there is one realm that has me questioning its’ benefits and efficiency: politics.

Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico, has a very active Twitter account, and President Obama uses both Twitter and Facebook to post about what he is doing and his upcoming 2012 campaign. U.S. Congressman and Senators alike use both forms to update constituents on legislation, debates, etc. But lets be honest…these representatives aren’t personally blogging, tweeting and posting. Most will even admit to it…they don’t have the time or the interest to personally do it. So why don’t we talk about the representatives on a local level, who don’t have the staff or budget to have someone do it.

The Georgia legislative session just wrapped up last week and I realized that I knew a lot of more than usual in terms of what was going on down at the Capitol this spring, mainly because it was all over my Facebook page. It seemed like every time I checked my page, my News Feed was flooded with minute by minute updates of what was happening RIGHT THEN. Seems like a positive, right? We constantly complain that politics is too secretive and too many decisions are made behind closed doors. But with constant updates, posting of pictures of each other on the Senate and House floors, one has to wonder…what did they actually accomplish down there this session??

I took note of several representatives who posted what day of the session it was and what was on the calendar. It then seemed to be followed up with a picture of the calendar, who was speaking and even a personal photo with someone who appeared that day. Sen John Albers and many representatives have Facebook pages that they update personally and use to keep in touch with the public. I think it would be worth your time to look at them and see if you think any of them were posting too much. (Hint: The answer is yes. I actually sat in a marketing meeting to discuss the use of social networking and one of the referenced legislators was frowned upon because of how excessive he had become.)

I actually saw a Senator complain that the last day of the session had a full calendar. If you have followed my blog at all, you would know that the Georgia Senate allocated TWO DAYS of Senate time (more like, tax payer time) to “honor” professional athletes. Maybe if they hadn’t done that, the calendar would have been a little more free for the final days to discuss important things like immigration (which passed, but in a painfully weak manner) and the budget. And if the calendar is so full, then stop posting every hour, get off Facebook and get to work!

I’m all in favor of Senators and Congressmen posting what was accomplished that day,but don’t you think that could be done at the end of the day? A nice summary of what happened, what bills were debated, etc etc. It is not necessary, however, to post every two hours that you had lunch with someone from your district, your kid visited (with an added photo) and that your wife just got bifocals! Frequent postings serve no purpose and are a WASTE OF TAX-PAYER DOLLARS. It seems to me that legislators have become too enthralled with the fame of being in the public spot light that they’ve forgotten that they are public servants and it isn’t all about the photos or opportunities to meet people they see as celebrities. Legislators get so caught up in “staying in the minds of constituents” that they end up portraying the message that they aren’t really doing anything down there at the Capitol, except adding friends and expanding their Mobile Uploads folder.

And lets face it…if they were really acting as “public servants” as so many of them like to remind us in their monthly newsletters, they wouldn’t have to tell us all of the things they have accomplished because they wouldn’t be looking for praise….They would simply being doing their jobs.

Honor your father and your mother…and all the athletes, the waiters and the guy down the street…

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Do you remember when you were in middle school and every night you wished you would meet Nick from the Backstreet Boys? Or Britney Spears? Or Kobe Bryant? You planned what you would say if you got that chance, knew exactly what you would wear…it would be just magical!

Well, today our Georgia Senators got a little taste of that magic. So thank you for paying your taxes!!

Today, March 29th, the Georgia Senate honored the Atlanta Falcons during session. Yes, you read correctly…honored. On tax payer time and money, a sports team was honored at the Capital. On the count of three…you can get mad…1…2…3!!

Why on God’s green Earth are we honoring professional athletes in the middle of the business day while the Senate is in session?? What have they done for the state of Georgia?? Some argue their playing abilities and successes bring a great deal of revenue to Georgia. Okay, yes, they do. So now we are honoring people because they do their job?! You score a touchdown, manage a team effectively, coach a winning season and now you all get a giant pat on the back down at the Capital!!! Next week, we’ll be bringing in all waiters that did not spill any drinks in the month of January!

With illegal immigration climbing every day, public school education lagging-with many of our schools closing their doors, Medicare and Medicaid fraud costing us millions every year and a pending national health care act that stands to change all medical practices as we know it, I find it hard to believe that we have any time to honor the Falcons.

And what’s more…why are we honoring professional athletes (who again are simply “living the dream” and doing their jobs)?? What happened to honoring service men and women who lay their lives on the line for us, their fellow soldiers and our freedom? THAT justifies honor.

What a disgrace.

Thoughts??

—————–***UPDATE***——————4/2/2011

More MAGIC!!

On Friday, the Georgia Senate once again honored an athlete. This time, it was Auburn quarterback, Cam Newton. Even as a loyal Auburn fan, I still do not see a place for this in the Senate. Senator John Albers (R-56) stated on his Facebook page during the FIRST blog that they honored the Falcons because “they were a huge source of revenue for the state”. If that is the justification, then what business does Cam Newton have being honored in the Senate? It’s true that he is from College Park, but any subsequent revenue he would have produced would be directed toward Auburn, no? So it appears that even the justification that Senators provided does not always apply. (Note- Senator Albers responses were directed toward the questions of another constituent on his Facebook page, not mine. He chose not to respond to my inquiries on his page, despite his declaration that he was willing to answer questions that ANY ONE may have…it appears that he does not like to be challenged, as I was consequentially deleted from his Facebook page for asking questions.)

Georgia SB-63…Preventing Fraud…and a bunch of other hidden stuff too

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On March 14th, the Georgia Senate passed SB-63 which “requires that Medicaid cards integrate a computer chip that includes a digital photograph of the card holder”. Sources claim that Medicaid fraud costs U.S. tax payers $60 billion a year, and $26 million just in Georgia.

According to Senator Albers, a Republican from Roswell, the legislation will “preserve the Medicaid program for those who truly need it”. It is apparent that an overhaul of the current system is necessary to save Medicaid (if that is what we, as a state, intend to do), but this bill is nothing short of inappropriate. Unfortunately, it was introduced, sponsored and pushed through the entire process by Republicans.

The original bill stated that “patients will also provide a fingerprint scan when they enter the office and before they leave”. Supporters of the bill claim this will prevent providers from charging Medicaid for services that were not rendered since the patient will verify everything before he/she leaves. At some point in the process, the Senate Health & Human Services Committee dropped the fingerprint ID stipulation and it was not included in the final bill.

Thankfully, this is only going to be used as a pilot program to ensure that it is beneficial and cost effective…but even in a trial period, one must ask:
1) How is this any different from a national ID card that so many conservative representatives vehemently oppose?? While it will only apply to Medicaid participants, I can’t help but be incensed by the idea of a photo and computer chip installed on a card that people will be carrying in their wallets. Who’s to say that this won’t be used by the government in a more overbearing manner later on down the road??
2) Many opponents to this legislation claim that there will be a significant administrative burden on the offices when this is implemented. The doctor’s will be required to have the appropriate technology to facilitate the new measures this legislation requires. According to Senator William Ligon, the program will initially cost about $26 million to implement (Note: this is the same amount of money the state loses each year on the Medicaid fraud). By increasing the cost of doing business for these medical offices, we risk further increasing the costs to the patients, which in turn affects the Medicaid program.
3) How much will these “smart cards” cost the Medicaid program and it’s participants?????????????? Who will eat the cost? The program? The participants? The tax payers?

The Republicans in the Georgia Senate very much so missed boat on this legislation. It is imperative that we establish programs that are cost-effective and efficient. I’m not so sure Senate Bill 63 is going to facilitate in this movement……

————**UPDATE**————
————(3/23/2011)————-
I spoke with Senator Albers last week in regards to both this blog and his legislation (SB-63).

Senator Albers wanted to clarify that the cost of implementing the legislation would only be $3 million, contrary to the $26 million his colleague earlier stipulated. He claims the reduction in cost is due to the elimination of the fingerprinting portion of the program.

Senator Albers continued to point out that I did not have a “better solution” for the Medicaid program despite my assertion that this blog is analytical and an editorial and that I am not an elected official.

Senator Albers also emphasized that Medicaid is a voluntary program that participants do not pay in to, unlike Medicare. He used this to justify the implementation of computerized chips in the cards and compared them to credit cards.

After our conversation, Senator Albers and I agreed to disagree on this issue. I stand firm on my implications that this program is vulnerable for misuse down the road and does not seem to be cost effective. Senator Albers maintains that this is the best plan for Georgia and that it is not a fascist move. He mentioned the use of a similar proposal in the future for the food stamps program. For more information, or to contact Senator Albers, visit www.senatoralbers.com

————-*UPDATE*————
————-(3/28/2011)———–

This article was sent to me after the posting of this blog and it’s update by two different readers.

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/medicaid-smart-card-idea-885664.html