Blog

“The COVID-19 crisis is challenging the private, government and non-profit sectors to provide assistance in Arkansas … One goal is economic: expand the supply of medical services in response to increased demand from individuals.”Jonesboro Sun, April 24, 20201 (August 2020) The market response to COVID-19 is to increase the supply of medical services in response […]

(July 2020) The Policy Foundation’s Efficiency Project (2015-16) , funded with support from private foundations represented an investment in Arkansas’ economic future. Savings from the Project and subsequent efforts to transform and reorganize Arkansas state government (2017-19) are leading to the achievement of fiscal policy goals. Arkansas’ economy will become more competitive as Gov. Asa […]

(June 8, 2020) The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the official arbiter of the U.S. business cycle announced today that the economy entered a recession in February, according to a release from the Cambridge,MA., nonprofit. The Policy Foundation announced last month that a recession began in February based on peaks in four coincident indicators […]

(May 11, 2020) The longest economic expansion in U.S. history ended in February, a Policy Foundation analysis of four coincident indicators shows. The Foundation’s findings were published yesterday by TalkBusiness,  an Arkansas site that reports on commerce. The report notes nonfarm payroll employment, a coincident indicator, peakedin February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor […]

(April 2020) A 5th generation Arkansan, Tim Griffin was raised in Magnolia and has served as Arkansas lieutenant governor since 2015.1 A fiscal conservative, Lt. Gov. Griffin spoke at the Policy Foundation’s 20th anniversary event in 2015 with Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Lt. Gov. Griffin served on the Transformation Advisory Board, a 15-member citizens panel (2017-18) […]

“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.” […]

(March 2020) Arkansas’ top income tax rate declined from 6.9% to 6.6% but is still second-highest in the southeast region, trailing only South Carolina (7.0%), according to records from the Federation of State Tax Administrators.1 South Carolina 7.0% Arkansas 6.6% West Virginia 6.5% Louisiana 6.0% Georgia 5.75% Virginia 5.75% North Carolina 5.25% Alabama 5.0% Kentucky […]

(January 2020) Three years ago, a government-imposed monopoly existed in Little Rock, interfering with anentrepreneur and limiting consumer choice to one taxicab company. Today, more competition exists thanks to a successful legal challenge1 handled by Justin Pearson, an attorney with the Institute for Justice. The Policy Foundation recently interviewed Pearson about the case. Policy Foundation: […]

“The first problem is state spending that exceeds U.S. and regional averages on a per capita basis.” Arkansas Policy Foundation, February 2019 memo (January 2020) Total Operating Expenditures for the State of Arkansas increased $1.49 billion between FY 2015 and FY 2017, public records show.1 Total Operating Expenditures   (2015) $23,596,144,446 (2017) $25,090,401,084   $1,494,256,638 […]

“A short-term budgetary link should be established between the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and total operational expenditures by agencies.” Policy Foundation Efficiency Project recommendation, 2016 (December 2019) Social services operating expenditures totaled $8.1 billion (FY2017), consuming nearly one-third (32%) of total state spending in this area. Only one other department–Education–topped $1 billion, records show. 1 […]