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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 […]

(March 2025) Arkansas continues to top the U.S. average in jobs creation since state policymakers first cut the state income tax rate starting in January 2015, according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Arkansas nonfarm payroll employment, the broadest state-level economic indicator expanded 14.7% versus the national average (13.2%) between […]

(March 28, 2025) Arkansas led the nation (#1) in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for 4Q-2024, according to a news release today from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).(1) Arkansas also led the U.S. in real GDP growth in 3Q-2024(2), an unprecedented development for the state’s economy. The BEA release states, “Real gross […]

(December 2024) More than 120,000 Arkansas students attend charter, home or private schools, or are enrolled in a public school choice program in the current school year, state Department of Education and other records show. The niche school choice market has grown from 66,627 students (2013) to 121,421 in the 2024-25 school year.

(October 2024) A public forum on the state income tax will be held Tuesday, November 19 at 5 p.m. at the Red & Blue Event Center (1415 W. 7th Street) in Little Rock.  The venue is conveniently located close to the state Capitol and policymakers are expected to participate in the discussion, “Arkansas Tax Policy: […]

(September 2024) Arkansas policymakers delivered the second biggest income tax cut in the U.S. in the last decade, a 43.5% reduction that narrowly trailed national leader Arizona (44.9%) since January 1, 2015.

September 2024) The chart shows top rates in 41 states with an income tax from lowest to highest.  Sources: Federation of State Tax Administrators (2015) and Tax Foundation (2024).

(September 2024) Arkansas’ job creation rate is greater than the U.S. average since policymakers launched a new fiscal policy to reduce tax rates, reversing a trend that saw the state trail the nation in two earlier 21st century expansions, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show.