Blog

(February 2026) Arkansans are heavily dependent on private transportation. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reports that 93% of Arkansans reach work by private motor vehicles, while only 0.4% use public transportation.  The 102,622 miles of roads in Arkansas dwarf the 2,505 miles of freight railroad and 1,860 miles of waterway cited by the BTS, […]

(January 2026) Arkansas’ job creation rate is greater than the U.S. average since state policymakers launched a new fiscal policy in 2015 to reduce income tax rates, reversing a trend that saw the state trail the nation in two earlier 21st century expansions, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data show. Arkansas (15.8%) is one of […]

(December 31, 2025) Technology or “tech” is topical: the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt for explaining technology’s role in creating “innovation-driven economic growth.”

(4Q-2025) Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the Natural State’s first female governor. Since taking office in January 2023, Sanders has also distinguished herself by advancing three separate reductions in Arkansas’ top income tax rate from 4.9 to 3.9 percent.

(September 2025) Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ administration is advancing Arkansas Forward, an efficiency initiative to save money and improve services for the people of Arkansas.

(Summer 2025) The Arkansas Policy Foundation is celebrating its 30th anniversary as a market-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank. Following is a brief history of the Policy Foundation that illustrates how reform ideas are later enacted by policymakers.

(2025-2Q) The Arkansas Policy Foundation was founded by business leaders to serve the community and advance ideas to create more prosperity for Arkansans. The Policy Foundation was founded 30 years ago as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that publishes credible research, hosts forums to encourage citizenship and is cited in national and state news […]

RIGHT TO TRY 2.0   (2025-2Q) The idea behind Right-To-Try is that “terminally ill patients who have exhausted their government-approved options” should have the freedom to access treatments that may help them.(1)  The idea originated with the Goldwater Institute of Arizona, a member of the State Policy Network (SPN), a market-based group that includes the […]

(2025-2Q) Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom TV show was founded in 1963 after discussions between V.J. Skutt, the private insurance firm’s CEO and zoologist Marlin Perkins.(1) The program, viewed by millions, won multiple Emmy awards and nominations for educating viewers about nature.(2) The late Stan Brock (1936-2018) was a co-host of the popular TV program. […]

(April 2025) Total operating expenditures for cabinet level Arkansas state agencies totaled $19.4 billion in FY 2024, a 3% decrease from the previous year ($19.9 billion), state Department of Finance and Administration records show. Federal revenues accounted for $9.8 billion or 50% of the FY2024 total. Expenditures for FY 2025, which ends June 30 will […]