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(October 2012) Former President Bill Clinton noted Arkansas and Michigan are sister states1 during a March 1997 speech to the Michigan legislature.  Arkansas and Michigan share another distinction: the number of female legislators has increased significantly since the people2 approved similar term limits constitutional amendments3 by landslide margins4 in 1992.   Legislators in both states are limited to no more […]

The Orange County treasurer managed the pools, which totaled approximately $7.6 billion.  The treasurer used reverse repurchase agreements, a type of derivative. The deposits were leveraged to more than $20 billion.  Orange County declared bankruptcy in December 1994. (U.S. Senate testimony)1   (September 2012) The Arkansas State Treasurer has no written policy regarding financial derivatives, according to […]

  “Governor Beebe has repeatedly said that the current rate of Medicaid growth is unsustainable.” The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society, November 2011   (September 2012) Long-term Arkansas Medicaid spending exceeded the U.S. average and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) before Gov. Mike Beebe supported expanding the program after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding nationalized […]

“The long-term liabilities of the ARKids First program should be identified.” Policy Foundation memos, 2006 (August 2012) The unfunded liabilities of the state’s ‘ARKids First program,’ a major component of Arkansas Medicaid are conservatively estimated at $3.5 billion, according to enrollment, federal reimbursement and average annual cost data obtained by the Policy Foundation. ‘ARKids First’ was established under former Gov. Mike Huckabee with […]

(July 2012) The 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Milton Friedman (1912-2006), the 1976 Nobel Economics laureate will be commemorated at a July 31 forum hosted by the Policy Foundation in Conway.   The forum will start at Noon at the Faulkner County Library (1900 Tyler).   Dr. Friedman, a 1928 graduate of Rahway, N.J. […]

(June 2012) Dr. Milton Friedman, the 1976 Nobel Economics Laureate advanced the idea of a negative income tax.  He argued “outright cash grants” were more efficient than welfare bureaucracies.    Summary   President Richard Nixon proposed a negative income tax.  His proposal was antecedent to the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), part of a tax reduction […]

(June 11, 2012) A Policy Foundation proposal to increase government transparency is one of four runners-up in the 21st annual Better Government Competition (BGC) sponsored by the Pioneer Institute, a think tank in Boston, Massachusetts.   The winning proposal, “Coordinating Medicare and Medicaid to Improve Care,” was submitted by Grace-Marie Turner (Galen Institute), and Robert Helms, Ph.D. […]

(June 2012) Arkansas policymakers face a potential $1.3 billion budget deficit in the state’s Medicaid program despite receiving $1 billion in federal stimulus funds for “health and human services” since 2009, according to remarks by officials and public records.   Gov. Mike Beebe and state Human Services Department Director John Selig said last month that […]

“College algebra is in the way of so many kids.  They can’t (pass) it and they drop out of school.  I’m not saying ‘dumb down the curriculum.’  I’m just saying, “Let’s get stuff you can use for life.’”  Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board member David Leech1   “Implement high expectations in math for all students. Allow all eighth-graders the chance […]

“The long-term liabilities of the ARKids First program should be identified.” Policy Foundation memos, 2006   (May 5, 2012) Remarks by Arkansas officials this week have pushed Medicaid, a government medical insurance program, to the policy forefront.  State Human Services Department Director John Selig said Arkansas will have to either slash Medicaid or increase spending due to a […]