Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012

ATLANTA (AP) -- Georgia's poverty rate is now at its highest points in 30 years. The typical Georgia household's annual income, in terms of purchasing power, is about what it was in 1990.

From 2010 to 2011, median household income fell by almost $2,000. Annual wages for the median worker dropped more than $2,500.

Those are some of the noteworthy conclusions of a new analysis released Tuesday by the left-leaning Georgia Budget & Policy Institute. The authors say the Great Recession wiped out 20 years of economic gains for many Georgia workers.

And the report concludes that state officials are ignoring potential solutions by not investing more in education, job training and transportation infrastructure. The authors argue that those kinds of investments grow the overall economy and expand individual opportunity.

(Copyright 2012, The Associated Press)