James September-October 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 12
from what would almost overnight
be a big industry.”
“It’s surprising that we can’t get
online sports betting passed,” he
says. “We already have a lottery system in place and the online sports
betting is an issue that was pushed
hard by our sports teams in the
state— including the Atlanta Braves,
the Falcons and the Hawks. Not being able to get it across the finish line
is a head scratcher.”
Looking ahead to another issue,
Jones seeks to expand the school
choice measures that passed this
year, specifically for foster families.
The legislature passed scholarships for up to $6,500 for children
in low-performing schools and the
lieutenant governor would like to see
that eligibility extended to foster children and foster families. Georgia, like
every state, is looking at a shortage
of foster families and Jones believes
extending the voucher eligibility to
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foster families could help incentivize
additional families to join the system.
“Incentivize foster families by
saying that not only if you foster a
child, not only can the child that you
have taken into your home qualify,
but the kids that they might already
have would qualify as well for the
voucher program,” he emphasizes.
“If you have three kids and you foster
a child, being able to send them all
to the same private school would be
beneficial and would hopefully add
more foster parents to the system.”
The November Elections
Before the next legislative session comes, Jones will be campaigning hard for Trump and many other
Republican legislative candidates
and others running this fall. What
does he see when in gazes into his
crystal ball?
“I think we’ll win. I think Trump
will win the White House, and he’s
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going to take a bunch of the six or
seven swing states that are going to
decide the election. I still don’t consider Georgia a swing state. I consider the 2020 election as kind of an
upset,” Jones says. “So I think Trump
will win Georgia. I saw what the
former president could do to boost
the economy, what he could do with
border control and what he does on
the world stage as far as making
sure that we’re respected. And his
motto is kind of like the old Teddy
Roosevelt model to carry a big stick.”
“It’s going to be a fight,” Jones
concludes. “But when you look at the
real issues we’re facing as a country— high inflation, the cost of living,
an open border and being weak on
the world stage— all that is a direct
reflection on the current administration in the White House.”
Baker Owens is a staff writer for James and James
Magazine Online.
