As teacher layoffs ripple across Georgia, the cuts mean financial stress among thousands of households, but also trouble for the larger economy.
The equation is simple — and circular: Layoffs and pay cuts reduce government costs, but also undermine the spending that produces the taxes that government relies on for revenue.
The precise impact is hard to calculate. The state is cutting jobs while slashing its contributions to hundreds of school districts that make their own cuts. No one seems to know how many slots statewide will disappear.
“This is part of the story,” said Sarah Beth Gehl, deputy director at the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute. “Nobody has a grip on how much of an effect layoffs are having on state and local employees.”
Full story: Teacher layoffs widen financial stress | ajc.com.