Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship once paid 100 percent of qualifying college students’ college tuition, books and fees. Recently increased demand and rising tuition have resulted in the state paying 82 percent of tuition and nothing for books and fees.
One solution would be to allow Georgians to decide if they want casino gambling in the state. In the Atlanta Journal Constitution, former state Director for U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and Chairman Emeritus of 100 Black Men of America, Inc. Tommy Dortch wrote, “The 2017 Georgia Assembly should act and give voters an opportunity to decide on a solution to funding HOPE. That solution is to allow Georgians to decide for themselves whether destination casino resorts should be allowed in our state. The state of Georgia and metro Atlanta are losing out. Every day, Georgia citizens vote with their wallets when they travel to nearby casinos in Alabama, Mississippi and North Carolina.”
However, casino gambling is not a sure savior for the HOPE program. This summer the newspaper reported most of the visitors to casino resorts would be locals, not tourists, and that the casinos may cannibalize spending that might have gone to other entertainment venues and restaurants, leading to a loss in state and local taxes.
