Blog

As Governor of the State of Arkansas, I am committed to preserving and protecting the financial integrity of our state.  Transparency, accountability, and efficiency promote the people’s faith in good government.  The citizens of Arkansas deserve a critical evaluation of their state government to ensure the cost-effective delivery of services and to ensure that state employees have […]

“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. And it does so with financial resources taken from parents already struggling financially and at the expense of their ability to choose a better school for their sons […]

Cato Recommendations For Arkansas (August 2016) The Cato Institute, a Washington think tank, has issued its annual ‘Freedom in the 50 States’ report. The report’s fiscal and education recommendations include the following ideas: Fiscal: Cut the state sales and use tax, which is high. Let local governments vary property taxes to meet local needs and […]

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. And it does so with financial resources taken from parents already struggling financially and at the expense of their ability to choose a better school for their sons […]

(May 2016) Total operating expenditures at four Arkansas state departments have increased at average annual rates greater than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since the last recession ended in mid-2009.  These actual agency expenditures1 increased at annual rates ranging from 3.8% (Community Corrections) to 1.9% (Education Department, Public School Fund) versus 1.5% inflation (CPI):                                                                                     Total Operating Expenditures […]

(April 2016) The Policy Foundation noted more than a decade ago that state spending growth linked to an economic metric such as the Consumer Price Index would save tax dollars. CPI has increased at an average annual rate of 1.5 percent in the economic expansion that started in 2009.  Yet spending increases at higher percentage rates […]

(March 2016) Revised federal data1 show Benton County achieved an all-time Arkansas high (153.2%) in per capita personal income2 in 2012. Arkansas officials have long sought to achieve 100 percent income parity with the U.S.  Benton County, home to public companies Wal-Mart and J.B. Hunt Transport Services has exceeded 100 percent since 1997, according to data revisions from […]

“The most callused aspect of the (Arkansas) education monopoly is that it willingly and deliberately forces children–except those whose parents have wealth–to attend bad schools. And it does so with financial resources taken from parents already struggling financially and at the expense of their ability to choose a better school for their sons and daughters.”  Policy […]

“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 […]

(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 […]