Economics

Columbia County is on its way to bringing in $288 million over the next five years, one penny at a time. On Tuesday, voters approved extending the Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), with about 60 percent voting yes on the ballot. SPLOST adds a penny per dollar to the local sales tax. That extra cent goes toward a fund the county uses for a wide range of improvement projects, including roads, schools, public safety, and parks and recreation facilities. Tuesday’s vote authorizes SPLOST for 2023-28. During that time, the

It is well known that General William Sherman did not attack Augusta during his famous military march during the American Civil War. His march destroyed property and confiscated livestock and crops. (Interestingly, Confederate General Joseph Wheeler, the main opposition to Sherman, was also under orders to destroy property and crops). In a letter to the editor of the Augusta Chronicle, Sherman explained that he did not need to attack Augusta; he wanted to get to Savannah so the Union Navy could re-supply him. A recent paper in American Economic Journal:

After the way the economy has waffled and waned during 2022, it could be tough to predict how it will perform in 2023. But Dr. Simon Medcalfe will give it his best shot at his annual Economic Forecast Breakfast next month. Medcalfe, professor of economics at the Hull College of Business at Augusta University and a weekly contributor to Augusta Business Daily, will present a local and regional economic forecast at 7:30 a.m., Dec. 8, in the Dr. Roscoe Williams Ballroom, Jaguar Student Activities Center, Summerville Campus. An RSVP is

Last week, I reported the labor force was down 500 people in the local area. Unfortunately, I was not specific about the “local” bit. I was referring to the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), while the headline referenced the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA). These are not the same with the MSA including Burke, Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie, and Richmond counties in Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield counties in South Carolina. The CSRA is a 13-county region, entirely within Georgia as seen in the map below (source: csrarc.ga.gov). The CSRA does

A penny here and a penny there may not seem like much, but over time they can add up to something significant. That’s why the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce is urging voters to vote Yes for the Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) when they go to the polls this fall. Voting yes would continue the one cent added to each sale, which has been in place since 1990. SPLOST funds in the past have been used to improve or create roads, schools, libraries, parks and recreation facilities, public

  Fewer venture capitalists are investing in Georgia startups and Hyundai is breaking ground on its electric vehicle plant near Savannah. Georgia Business Daily Business Update by Mike Petchenik.