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(April 2018) Only eight Arkansas counties post annual budgets online for citizens while others publish an annual appropriation notice in the paper of record, a legal requirement. Every county should post its budget in an easily-accessible format. This lack of transparency can be illustrated by comparing Arkansas counties with those with similar names in other […]

“I’ve been told this isn’t going to help anybody unless your income is $100,000 a year.” State Rep. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette “Question: Could you tell, since you indicated that perhaps Rep. Hendren’s fig 529s & MIDDLE-CLASS ARKANSAS HOUSEHOLDS “I’ve been told this isn’t going to help anybody unless your income is $100,000 a year.” State […]

“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,11998   (March 2018) The Policy Foundation was established in 1995 as a nonpartisan, 501(c)(c) non-profit think tank.  For nearly a quarter-century the Foundation has advanced market-based ideas to […]

(March 2018) A provision of the recently-enacted Republican federal tax cut, meant to increase competition in the delivery of education services was approved by the state legislature in mid-March and became law on March 20.   State legislators amended the Arkansas Tax-Deferred Tuition Savings Program Act1 to allow Section 529 Plans to be used to pay […]

“School Improvement Coordinator Ms. Tiah Frazier said there were 28 districts with transitional support plans.” Minutes, State Board of Education, December 14, 2017 “PA930 of 2017 requires districts with schools labeled under the state’s previous school accountability system to work with the Arkansas Department of Education to develop “transitional support plans” that will move the districts and […]

“Scarce resources can be allocated toward fiscal goals … when government does more with less.”  Policy Foundation, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 20161   (February 12, 2018) Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson proposed using efficiencies and savings from the transformation of state government to reduce the top state individual income tax rate from 6.9 to 6.0 percent in 2019.   […]

“State corporate income taxes represent a type of “double taxation”, wherein corporate profits are taxed at both the corporate level and the personal income tax level, when dividends are paid.” Murphy Commission, Policy Foundation project, 19981   (February 2018) Arkansas is among states with the second highest top corporate income tax rate in the 12-state […]

(January 2018) Records show the school choice market in Pulaski County totaled nearly 19,000 K-12 students in 2017. This niche educational market includes students eligible to participate in public school choice programs, capped at three percent (3%) of enrollment; and homeschooled, private and charter students.   The Arkansas School Choice Market   School choice has […]

“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,11998   (January 2018) Records show the Arkansas school choice market continues to grow at a high rate, expanding from an estimated 66,627 K-12 students (2013)2 to […]

“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 (December 2017) Nine years into a national economic expansion Arkansas’ economy trails the national average in jobs […]