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(March 2024) The state of Arkansas has retained management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. for a three-year efficiency initiative, according to a recently-announced contract between the two parties. The 128-page $5.5 million services contract includes information about the new project’s approach to efficiency. “The State,” the contract states, “intends to modernize and update both internal […]

“All post-secondary students enrolled in public, private or for-profit colleges and universities operating in Arkansas are our customers. To successfully serve those students, we also serve colleges and universities, policy makers, and taxpayers.” Arkansas Department of Higher Education statement, Policy Foundation Efficiency Study report (2016) (January 2024) Spending on Arkansas higher education increased between 2016 […]

(December 2023) Nearly 115,000 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 most callused aspect of the current education monopoly in Arkansas is that it willingly and deliberately forces children–except those whose […]

(October 2023) Nearly 5,000 Arkansas K-12 students have taken advantage of the education savings account (ESA) component of the LEARNS Act, according to a Policy Foundation analysis of state Department of Education data. LEARNS is a major education reform advanced by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. It is an acronym for literacy, empowerment, accountability, readiness, […]

(July 2023) Arkansans defeated a marijuana legalization measure last November after approving an initiated medical marijuana amendment in 2016. The 2022 proposal would have established a lower tax rate than the 2016 amendment. (1) A Tax Foundation report states, “Recreational marijuana taxation is one of the hottest policy issues in the U.S.” (2) APF has […]

(July 2023) Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders; her predecessor, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson; and state legislators have reduced the income tax rate to 4.7% since 2015. The top state income tax rate was 7.0% a decade ago. Some critics make class-warfare arguments to oppose the tax cuts. Others claim the state cannot afford them. Another […]

(2Q-2023) The average score of Arkansas fourth- and eighth grade students “was not significantly different” from their average score in 1998, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The Center is affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education, and is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education. Gov. Sarah […]

(May 2023) States without an income tax recorded higher levels of population growth than the national average and states in local regions, according to decennial U.S. Bureau of the Census data. Regional Population Growth Census data shows population growth in Florida led the 12-state Southeast region (2010 to 2020). Texas led the border state region […]

(May 2023) Policy Foundation research concludes states without an income tax create new private-sector jobs at rates greater than the national average. This observation is demonstrated by calculating growth rates in periods of economic expansion. The U.S. Bureau ofLabor Statistics (BLS) compiles jobs data. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) determines expansion dates. A […]