Blog

EFFICIENCY PROJECT RECOMMENDATION APPROVED  

  “Certain funds are not being distributed to low-income K-12 school districts as originally intended.”  Policy Foundation Efficiency Project, Second Report, Recommendation #50, p. 181   (May 2017) Mission creep describes the tendency of government programs to expand beyond their original purpose.  One Arkansas example is a 1997 program that pays incentive bonuses to teachers that obtain national-board certification […]

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ARKANSAS JOBS CREATION TRAILS U.S. AVERAGE  

  “There is significant evidence that reductions in marginal state tax rates encourage state economic growth …Rates on productive behavior should be reduced.” “Reduce the state’s income tax…repeal the state’s capital gains tax.” Arkansas Policy Foundation, Murphy Commission project, 1998   (May 2017) Arkansas state legislators cut taxes for low-income Arkansans1 and military retirees in this year’s […]

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GOV. HUTCHINSON NAMES EFFICIENCY PANEL  

“Formal or informal oversight for these recommendations and others should rest with an individual or team that shall work in a collaborative manner with the executive branch to advance efficiencies.” Policy Foundation, Arkansas Efficiency Project, Recommendation #20, 3Q-2016   (February 19, 2017) Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced today the founding of the Transformation Advisory Board, which will […]

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BANK DEPARTMENT ADDS ‘EFFICIENCY’ TO MISSION STATEMENT  

“Mission Statements. Agency officials expressed support for efficiency as a concept, though few mission statements include the term. Each agency should include the word efficiency in their mission statement and post it online in an easily accessible format.  Policy Foundation, Arkansas Efficiency Project, Recommendation #1, 3Q-2016   (February 2017) The Arkansas State Bank Department has amended its […]

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LITTLE ROCK STUDENTS NEED SCHOOL CHOICE  

“The most callused aspect of the current education monopoly in Arkansas is that it willingly and deliberately forces children–except those whose parents have wealth–to attend bad schools.” Policy Foundation report,1 September 1998   (January 2017) School choice and charter schools continue to advance since the Little Rock School District was taken over by the state two years […]

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EFFICIENCY PROJECT IN WALL STREET JOURNAL  

(January 2017) The Wall Street Journal, America’s leading commercial daily published a column in its January 14 edition that discussed the Arkansas state government Efficiency Project.  Policy Foundation Executive Director Greg Kaza wrote the column, which noted the “model of efficiency is business.”  The piece identified Arkansas entrepreneurs with “thrift, efficiency and the time value of money” but […]

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MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS & STATE LINES

Arkansas is a rural state that suffers from a shortage of medical professionals. One oft-discussed idea would assign advanced nurse practitioners a greater role. A lesser-known idea allows medical professionals to volunteer across state lines. It’s early on a recent Saturday morning at Manassas High School on Memphis’ near-north side. Remote Area Medical (RAM), a […]

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BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, PT. 2  

“Boards and commissions have also undergone extraordinary growth since the early seventies when the number hovered around 175. The number of Arkansas boards and commissions is 388…and growing. A closer look at the trend shows that the median year of creation for all Arkansas boards and commissions is 1978, meaning half of them (in the 123 years […]

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STATE GOVERNMENT REORGANIZATION BOARDS & COMMISSIONS  

(October 2015) Boards and Commissions have been described as “low-hanging fruit” in terms of state government reorganization.  A state website lists 119 separate entities that include the words “board” or “commission,”1 though the number could be greater.  A U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year has caused analysts to question whether some boards and commissions interfere with the […]

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