If the incoming Trump administration indeed wants to slash federal spending, Americans living in some of the same areas that propelled President-elect Trump back to the White House could be the ones to pay the price.

Why it matters: The Elon Musk/Vivek Ramaswany-led Department of Government Efficiency has proposed $2 trillion in annual federal cost savings. To reach that goal would require cuts to transfer programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

• Mandatory programs like those added up to 69% of non-interest federal spending in 2023. Their combined $3.75 trillion in spending was more than twice as much as defense and non-defense discretionary spending combined ($1.7 trillion).

Driving the news: Researchers at the Economic Innovation Group analyzed county-level data on how much personal income was driven by those federal transfer programs in 2022, as opposed to income earned from wages, investments, and the like.

Zoom in: In Georgia, counties closer to metro Atlanta saw the lowest reliance on transfer payments while central and south Georgia counties reported higher amounts.

• The counties most reliant on those payments were Quitman, where 47% of income was from government transfers, followed by Calhoun (44%), Clay (43%), Telfair (43%), Johnson (43%) and Hancock (43%).
• The bulk of government transfer payments were Medicaid and Medicare, followed by Social Security.
• Half of those counties voted for Trump, while the other half (Calhoun, Clay and Hancock, which are all majority Black) voted for Harris.
• Quitman, Clay and Hancock also had higher percentages of people who are age 65 or older.

Zoom out: Overall, in the counties most reliant on transfer payments — where they account for more than 25% of all income — Trump won 63% of the vote.

• Owsley County in Kentucky, for instance, led the nation with 63% of personal income from transfer payments, and it topped 50% in 13 other Kentucky counties. Trump carried the state by almost 31 points.

Reality check: The administrative cost of these programs tends to be a small fraction of the money spent; the overwhelming cost is the benefits themselves. For Social Security, for example, administrative overhead is about 0.5% of total spending.

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In an instant classic and arguably the game of the year, UGA squeaked by Georgia Tech 44-42 after eight (no, that's not a typo) overtime periods.

Why it matters: Despite a two-loss season, UGA controls its own destiny when it comes to the College Football Playoff.

What's next: A win Saturday against Texas in the SEC Championship would guarantee UGA a top four seed and a first round bye in this year's 12-team format.

• Georgia beat the Longhorns 30-15 in Austin earlier this year in a game that turned ugly toward the end as fans threw trash on the field after a controversial call by referees.
• Even with a loss, UGA is likely to get in the playoff. But as a three-loss team they could lose their chance to host a first-round game.

Tune in: The SEC title game is Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kickoff is at 4pm on ABC.

• The final CFP ranking will be released Sunday, Dec. 8 starting at noon.

The other side: As for Georgia Tech ... just a heartbreaking loss to end an otherwise exciting season that saw them pull off two major upsets.

• Now they wait to see what bowl they'll be playing in.

More than 40% of homeowners in Atlanta are between the ages of 45 and 64, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.

Why it matters: Steep housing prices and elevated mortgage rates push homeownership out of reach for many, particularly younger adults.

By the numbers: Two age groups — 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 — each make up 22% of homeowners in metro Atlanta.

• People under age 35 make up only about 11% of homeowners in Atlanta.

The big picture: U.S. homebuyers are now the oldest on record, with the median age of first-timers reaching 38, a recent report from the National Association of Realtors found.

• That's up from 35 last year and marks a new high in NAR data from 1981.

What we're watching: Younger people are increasingly banking on family money for down payments, Redfin research shows.

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🪚 Georgia cities and counties are still cleaning up after Hurricane Helene, and most of the debris is being taken to local landfills to bury or burn. (AJC)

👀 A new HOA president has reversed the $29,000 assessment the association sent to homeowners to pay for dam repairs in the neighborhood. (WSB)

🗳️ Black voters were the only major racial demographic group that voted in fewer numbers in 2024 than in 2020, and the new leader of the Georgia House Democratic Caucus, is working to change that. (Capital B)

Friends and family gathered to celebrate the life of Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson, who died last week after a battle with pancreatic cancer. (AJC)