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(July 2010) The Policy Foundation will host a July 30 event honoring the late Dr. Milton Friedman (1912-2006), the 1976 Nobel Laureate in Economics and a proponent of educational choice. His wife, Rose D. Friedman (1910-2009) was also an economist. The couple co-authored several books, including a 1980 best-seller, Free To Choose that served as […]

  (July 2010) Little Rock charter schools reported no discipline incidents but 26 of 34 local traditional public schools reported weapons incidents, staff assaults or student assaults, according to a Policy Foundation review of 2009 Arkansas School Performance Report cards.   Ten open enrollment charter schools are in Little Rock. (1) They are the Arkansas […]

The Policy Foundation’s interest in ethics reform dates to 1998 when it made recommendations to prevent double-dipping in terms of compensation.  Double-dipping has reemerged in the past year following media reports that Arkansas government officials returned to work after “retiring” to draw taxpayer-funded salary and retirement benefits.  A lack of transparency, in this episode contributed to the problem. […]

Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe in 2007 proposed a 50 percent reduction in the state sales tax on groceries. The tax cut, enacted by the General Assembly reduced the grocery tax from six to three cents. The grocery tax was reduced from three to two cents in 2009.  Gov. Beebe would like to cut the grocery tax by […]

(June 2010) Arkansas small businesses face increased red tape as the result of a little-noticed provision in Obamacare that requires them to file a 1099 tax form with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) each time they make total annual purchases of $600 or more from any individual or corporation.   Obamacare creates a new administrative […]

“The long-suffering people of Arkansas deserve policies that create a vast, stable and prosperous middle class, not ideas that create more poverty. They deserve the opportunity to achieve the American dream through good-paying private sector jobs that provide upward mobility.” Policy Foundation, „Road Map for Arkansas Prosperity‟ (December 2008)   (June 2010) Total Arkansas payroll […]

Economic Overview   Information is classified by the U.S. government as a private service- providing sector.   The sector, despite adjusting for recession, has barely grown in a two- decade period. There were 17,200 Information sector employees in Arkansas in January 1990 when the employment time series began. The Information sector employed 17,800 in December […]

The following chart prepared by the Federation of State Tax Administrators shows that the Arkansas state income tax rate (top bracket) is higher than the six states that share its border: State Top Rate Arkansas 7.0% Louisiana 6.0% Missouri 6.0%  Oklahoma 5.5% Mississippi 5.0% Tennessee Income tax limited to dividends and interest Texas No state […]

  (April 2010) The Policy Foundation is hosting a one-day conference on virtual education on May 4 at the Clinton Presidential Center in downtown Little Rock. There is no charge to attend the conference, and lunch will be provided to participants who register with the Policy Foundation prior to the event, which will take place […]

  Dynamic analysis is an attempt to measure the full impact of fiscal policy revisions, including tax proposals, on revenue estimates. It can also provide legislators with more information when considering fiscal proposals. One example is the 2008 increase in the severance tax. The state revenue estimate was based on an $8 natural gas futures contract […]