Featured Articles

Medicaid Expansion & Economic Shortages

(May 2013) Economists and medical professionals have understood for some time that shortages exist within Arkansas’ health care system. But the bipartisan group of state lawmakers that expanded Arkansas’ Medicaid rolls by an estimated quarter-million recipients (250,000) ignored this issue in three public acts that expanded the program. The unintended economic consequence is that existing Arkansas medical shortages will worsen.

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Top Arkansas Income Tax Rate Reduced From 7.0 to 6.9 Percent

(April 2013) The state legislature has reduced the top Arkansas income tax rate from 7.0 to 6.9 percent on net income greater than $44,000 for “tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2015.” The measure also cuts income taxes for lower-income Arkansans beginning in January 2014.

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States of Employment Growth

(April 2013) The capital gains tax cut approved by the first Republican-controlled state legislature since Reconstruction is a modest step toward creating a more pro-growth economic climate in Arkansas. The measure, sponsored by House Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, increases the capital gains exemption from individual income taxes from 30 to 50 percent. Carter defined the issue in terms of creating incentives for job creators.

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School Letter Grades Approved

(March 25, 2013) The state General Assembly has approved part of a 15-year-old Murphy Commission recommendation that clarifies for parents the public school rating system, amending annual school report cards from numerical to letter grades.

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Medicaid Unfunded Liabilities Expand Under So-Called "Private" Option

(March 2013) The unfunded liabilities of the state’s ‘ARKids First program,’ a major part of Arkansas Medicaid are estimated to expand by more than $1 billion under a so-called “private” option under review by state legislators.

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The State of Arkansas Manufacturing

(February 2013) Beebe administration officials are asking the state General Assembly to approve a $125 million bond deal for a steel production facility at Osceola in east Arkansas that promises 525 new jobs. But the state of Arkansas manufacturing is so weak, compared to historical levels that the proposed mill is likely to have minimal impact on employment and GDP.

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Overlooked Issues in Medicaid Debate

(January 15, 2013) Arkansas policymakers are debating Medicaid expansion, yet a number of key issues have been overlooked by observers.

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Road Map for Arkansas Prosperity

(December 2012) Taxes were raised in 1983 and, again, in 2004 with the following result: Arkansas ranked 47th, 48th or 49th nationally in per capita personal income, with a level 75 to 78 percent of the U.S. thru 2006. In sum, income improved by a mere three-hundredths (3/100ths) in nearly a quarter-century. This is the sad economic record defended by tax cut opponents, and it's time they were called on it. Their policies ate the seed, and caused capital, jobs and paychecks to flee Arkansas. The long-suffering people of Arkansas deserve better.

Per capita income expanded to 81 percent of the U.S., and Arkansas’ rank reached 46th following the largest tax cut in the state’s history, a 75 percent reduction in the grocery tax (2007-11). But other state taxes must be cut if Arkansas is to compete for new jobs and improve its income rank.

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Advancing School Choice in Arkansas

Charter school students are one segment of the market for school choice in Arkansas, an overlooked topic in the education reform debate. The Policy Foundation identifies these market segments as follows:

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How to Cut Taxes in Arkansas

(November 2012) The policy climate has shifted dramatically in Arkansas, with Republicans winning control of the state Senate, 21-14, and state House, 51-48-11, for the first time since Reconstruction. The stage is set for a serious policy debate around a question advanced by the Policy Foundation since its 1995 founding: “How to cut taxes in Arkansas?’ Fiscal policy in this new environment should focus on income, capital gains and grocery tax rates, and their potential effect on household budgets, job creation and state revenues.

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Sister States, More Female Legislators in Term Limits Era

(October 2012) Former President Bill Clinton noted Arkansas and Michigan are sister states during a March 1997 speech to the Michigan legislature. Arkansas and Michigan share another distinction: the number of female legislators has increased significantly since the people approved similar term limits constitutional amendments by landslide margins in 1992.

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Long-term Arkansas Medicaid Spending Growth Greater than U.S. Average, CPI

(September 2012) Long-term Arkansas Medicaid spending exceeded the U.S. average and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) before Gov. Mike Beebe supported expanding the program after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding nationalized medical insurance.

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State Treasurer Has No Derivatives Policy

(September 2012) The Arkansas State Treasurer has no written policy regarding financial derivatives, according to the office’s response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed Sept. 24 by the Policy Foundation.

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‘ARKIDS FIRST’ Unfunded Liabilities Estimated at $3.5 Billion

(August 2012) The unfunded liabilities of the state’s ‘ARKids First program,’ a major component of Arkansas Medicaid are conservatively estimated at $3.5 billion, according to enrollment, federal reimbursement and average annual cost data obtained by the Policy Foundation.

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Dr. Milton Friedman's Education Reform Ideas to be Discussed at July 31 Conway Forum

(July 2012) The 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Milton Friedman (1912-2006), the 1976 Nobel Economics laureate will be commemorated at a July 31 forum hosted by the Policy Foundation in Conway.

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Arkansas Medicaid Crisis Looms
Despite $1 Billion in Stimulus Funds

(June 2012) Arkansas policymakers face a potential $1.3 billion budget deficit in the state’s Medicaid program despite receiving $1 billion in federal stimulus funds for “health and human services” since 2009, according to remarks by officials and public records.

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Policy Foundation Runner-Up in
National Better Government

(June 11, 2012) A Policy Foundation proposal to increase government transparency is one of four runners-up in the 21st annual Better Government Competition (BGC) sponsored by the Pioneer Institute, a think tank in Boston, Massachusetts.

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How Low Will They Go?

(May 2012) The state Higher Education Coordinating Board’s decision to allow public higher learning institutions to replace algebra as a graduation requirement for most students marks a new low in declining Arkansas academic standards. The panel calls for college algebra to be required for STEM students while the requirement is dropped for other majors.

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Arkansas Medicaid's Unfunded Liabilities

(May 5, 2012) Remarks by Arkansas officials this week have pushed Medicaid, a government medical insurance program, to the policy forefront. State Human Services Department Director John Selig said Arkansas will have to either slash Medicaid or increase spending due to a projected shortfall. Gov. Beebe said Medicaid cuts or new taxes are coming in FY 2014. The fiscal impact will be significant. Medicaid was 18.1 percent of the state’s $24.8 billion 2011 budget, and Selig contends Arkansas could lose up to $900 million in federal funding without additional state funding.

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Flight From Accountability

(April 2012) Public school administrators oftentimes seem oblivious to a 21st century economic reality: their consumer base includes businesses and entrepreneurs trying to compete in a global economy where standards rule.

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FOIA Documents; State, LRSD Unprepared for Deflation in Property Values Scenario

(April 2012) The state Department of Education and the Little Rock School District, Arkansas’ largest district, have no plan to respond to deflation in property values, a problem in states like California, according to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Policy Foundation.

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Twice as Many Arkansas Homeschool and Private School Students as AEA Members

(March 2012) The number of Arkansas homeschooled and private school students outnumber Arkansas Education Association (AEA) members by a ratio of more than 2-to-1, public records show.

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Arkansas Teacher Performance Pay

(February 2012) Performance pay has advanced from Murphy Commission recommendation to experiment in Arkansas’ largest school district to current policy in three Arkansas school districts (Cross County, Lincoln, and Helena-West Helena) and at two charter schools (e-STEM, and Academics Plus).

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Improving K-12 Financial Analysis, PT. 1

(February 2012) The creation of a uniform accounting system for Arkansas K-12 school districts is one reform of the post-Lakeview policy environment.

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Policy Foundation Joins Legal Challenge to Nationalized Medical Insurance

(February 13, 2012) The Policy Foundation has joined a legal challenge to nationalized medical insurance, joining a coalition of national and state think tanks and legislators in a friend-of-the-court brief filed today with the U.S. Supreme Court.

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More Than One-Third of States Have School Choice Programs

(January 2012) Eighteen states—more than one-third of the U.S.—have school choice programs serving students and parents attending private schools. But Arkansas does not have any private choice programs two decades after Wisconsin launched a key program in 1990 in Milwaukee.

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A Tale of Two Arkansas Performance Reports

(January 2012) A new student performance report by the Univ. of Arkansas-Fayetteville’s Office for Education Policy (OEP), following surveys from the state Department of Education (2011) and the Policy Foundation (2005-2008) underscore a problem: the department’s failure to admit there is a problem.

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National School Choice Week

(January 2012) National School Choice Week is January 22-28, 2012. For more information visit: http://www.schoolchoiceweek.com/

Mission Statement

The Arkansas Policy Foundation is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization that analyzes the impact of public policy on Arkansas and makes recommendations.

The Foundation emphasizes the importance of tax policy and education reform.

Principles of tax policy: Arkansas would benefit from comprehensive, pro-growth reform; Arkansans are not under-taxed; taxes and rates do matter to entrepreneurs; dynamic scoring of tax changes and effects provides benefits.

Education reform: The Foundation seeks intellectual honesty and complete openness in reporting the lack of academic progress in Arkansas' school system.

The Foundation encourages citizenship.

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