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“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 […]

(April 2012) The state Department of Education and the Little Rock School District, Arkansas’ largest district, have no plan to respond to deflation in property values, a problem in states like California, according to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Policy Foundation.   Deflation in property values is a macroeconomic problem […]

We seek “intellectual honesty and complete openness in reporting academic progress and ‘the state’ of public education…”  Policy Foundation, 1998, Murphy Commission project.   (April 2012) Public school administrators oftentimes seem oblivious to a 21st century economic reality: their consumer base includes businesses and entrepreneurs trying to compete in a global economy where standards rule. The Arkansas […]

(March 2012) The number of Arkansas homeschooled and private school students outnumber Arkansas Education Association (AEA) members by a ratio of more than 2-to-1, public records show.   Arkansas students in home school totaled 16,3031 in 2010-11, according to the Arkansas Department of Education.  Arkansas private school enrollment was 19,3752 in 2010-11, according to the Arkansas Nonpublic School […]