The Georgia State legislature is wrapping up its spring session, and once again, showed its true agenda. It's not the people of this state, although they would have people believe it to be quite the other way around. There are a fair amount of people in this state that are Democrats, and there are even a few moderate Republicans, but, sadly it seems that mostly, it is a state of people that go to the voting booth and vote against their own best interests. It is not my intention to cast a broad brush of all the people here, nor is it my intention to be a typical "Damn Yankee", but this needs to be said. The politicians in this state are not looking out for the people they are supposed to represent.

Take Senate Bill 31, for example. Passing quickly thru the House and Senate, it raises utility rates for all residents, and excludes big business. This bill was not passed to cover the rising costs of energy, but rather to fund 2 yet to be built nuclear power plants , expected to come online in 2016. Big business won't be paying for it, we will.

Another bill, Senate Bill 130, allows the return of PayDay lending in Georgia. Long known as a predatory practice, it was banned here years ago. Well it is back -- and the fees and penalties on these types of loans often end up more than 100% of the actual loan itself. The payday Lending Lobby is strong here in Georgia -- very strong.

In light of the current housing crisis, one would think that the state would be moving to fix the laws regarding foreclosure here, right? Wrong. Nothing has been done to amend the foreclosure laws here in the state, and it is one of the fastest in the country. A family can literally be on the street in a month and have their home sold on the courthouse steps in 37 days. Georgia is expecting to see over 10,000 homes foreclosed on in April alone. This means that April will see 10,000 more houses empty, leaving local municipalities to make sure areas with empty homes don't become crime zones. It would have made sense to change those laws to help more people stay in their homes especially during this crisis. The state could have taken steps to prevent this, but chose instead to placate business.

The sad part about both of these situations is that it leaves a greater burden on local governments. It makes for a greater strain and it helps no one... no one except the business that lobbied for these (and many other) laws and the representatives that reap the sweet benefits of pushing the legislation thru.

I find it ironic that people who vote Republican here are the same people who believe that if you work hard enough you can achieve anything, and believe that government should stay out of their lives when government here in Georgia is doing the exact opposite. They are passing laws -- or not passing laws as is the case with foreclosure -- that are making it harder for everyday people already teetering on the edge to succeed and get by.

It is all so very like the GOP. Acting and saying they are fighting for the little person and doing quite the opposite when asked to pass a vote. Georgia is the only state in the union that actually gained Republican voters in the last election, and sadly for all of us, they are reaping what they sow. You can't even blame this on the Dems; there are so few of them in the state house.

I hope that as Georgia goes, the rest of the nation goes the other way. I don't want the state to fail, I want it to start working for its people, instead of working against them. Is that too much to ask from your representatives? Maybe so. No state is perfect, but as long as I live here, this is my state and my home. and if that makes me a Damn Yankee, so be it.

:peace: and

Raine