January 2015
MORE THAN HALF OF ARKANSAS’ COUNTIES HAVE LOST POPULATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
(January 2015) Forty (40)1 Arkansas counties--more than half of the state's 75 counties--have lost population since the 2000 Census, U.S. Census Bureau data2 show. The population losses illustrate the state's uneven economic development3, with...
January 2015
DOCUMENTS: OUTSTANDING TAX LIENS TOTAL $735 MILLION
Policymakers Ignore Liens, Raise Taxes, Can't House Criminals (January 26, 2015) Documents1 obtained by the Policy Foundation from the state Department of Finance and Administration show total outstanding tax liens number 178,612 and total $735,470,927, while...
January 2015
ARKANSAS’ NON-COMPETITIVE CORPORATE INCOME TAX RATE
(January 2015) Fiscal action taken by the 90th General Assembly has focused on income and capital gains tax rates,1 while ignoring Arkansas' non-competitive top corporate tax rate, among the highest in the region. Arkansas' top2 corporate...
December 2014
ANY MEDICAID PROGRAM MUST IDENTIFY COSTS & ESTABLISH LIMITS
Summary: Arkansas Medicaid spending is fiscally unsustainable. Medicaid's unfunded liabilities must be identified. Strict program limits must be imposed. (December 2014) Medicaid expansion has proven a contentious issue for Arkansas policymakers, with Republicans divided over...
November 2014
GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON TO KEYNOTE POLICY FOUNDATION 20TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT (
November 2014) Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson will keynote the Policy Foundation's 20th anniversary Recognition Reception on Thursday, Dec. 17 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Little Rock Club on the 30th Floor of...
November 2014
NEW UNIV. OF OKLAHOMA PRESS BOOK CITES POLICY FOUNDATION ON ARKANSAS’ ECONOMY
"State Line Road is the boundary that separates the Arkansas and Texas sides of Texarkana, a border town ... State Line, to the casual observer, is merely another road separating two states. But for those in the neighborhood,...
October 2014
POLITICAL WISHES ECONOMIC REALITIES
Summary: Arkansas graduates benefit from a dynamic business climate that creates jobs and paychecks, not from political wishes that ignore economics. (October 2014) An oft-stated goal of Arkansas public officials is to increase the...
October 2014
ARKANSAS JOBS DECLINE, FOOD STAMPS INCREASE
Summary: A healthy state economy creates new jobs at rates greater than or equal to the U.S. average. Public assistance is seen as short-term aid, not a multi-year entitlement. Two metrics (employment growth, food stamp usage1) illustrate...
September 2014
SEVENTEEN ARKANSAS LEGISLATORS SEEK MEDICAID UNFUNDED LIABILITIES ESTIMATE
"The new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is a burden on Arkansas taxpayers, though executive branch officials are in denial about its budget exposure. Legislators need to understand that nationalized medical insurance, in...
September 2014
POLICY FOUNDATION FILES PUBLIC COMMENT ON MEDICAID EXPANSION
(September 2014) An amendment by Arkansas Medicaid expansion proponents is inadequate because it fails to estimate unfunded liabilities, according to a public comment submitted to state and federal authorities by the Policy Foundation. The comment...
