ACRE’s analysts and economists have recently engaged in a friendly debate on an important topic: whether Arkansas’ business tax incentives and subsidies are necessary. The debate took place over the past few weeks on the op-ed pages of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the state’s largest circulation newspaper. Jacob Bundrick, ACRE policy analyst and UCA alum, started […]
ACRE Review
Charter School Myths and Facts
By Mavuto Kalulu Many people have misconceptions about charter schools, the parents that choose them, and the children that attend them. Below are just a few of the common charter school myths along with the facts and sources that address them. Myth: Charter schools perform worse than traditional public schools Fact: Open-enrollment charter schools perform […]
Making Cents of $18 Million
By Jeremy Horpedahl Is $18 million a small amount? Is one-fourth of a cent a large amount? On Super Tuesday, voters in Pulaski County will not only be selecting presidential candidates. They are also deciding whether the sales tax will be increased by one-quarter of a percentage point to provide $18 million for funding of […]
Understanding Why Firms Hire: Minimum Wage Debate
Highly profitable companies pay some of their workers only the minimum wage. Some politicians and activists, along with the President, want to raise this wage. Arguing that it is unfair for workers to make so little, the President wants to raise the minimum wage for all workers to $10.10. Unfortunately, the President doesn’t understand how […]
Stimulate Job Creation and Economic Development While Preserving Health and Safety Standards HB-1158
By Dr. David Mitchell Occupational licensing is an expensive legal requirement that must be met before people have the right to work. It includes education, experience, and testing, all of which is expensive. We say Arkansas is a right to work state, but it is not. Arkansas has more occupational licensing than any of its […]
School Choice Gives Your Child $200,000
By Dr. Mavuto Kalulu The figure from the U.S. Department of Labor displays the unemployment rate and weekly earnings by education level earned. Suppose that John graduated from high school at age 18 but his buddy Jacob dropped out. As the figure shows, John will earn $179 per week more than Jacob. In one year […]
Protecting the Public through Contracting Licensure: A Tale of Three Homes
Bill Johnson, an Arkansan, has decided that he wants to build a new house. He has three options to complete construction: Option #1 Bill can build his own house. Along the way, however, Bill finds that doing everything himself is taking too long and is inefficient. Bill’s neighbor, Jim, built a nice house that Bill […]
Arkansas County Government Cannot Be ‘Transparent’ When One-Third of Them Have No Web Presence
By Dr. David Mitchell For Arkansans to be able to insist upon and receive good government, we must have easily available information about county government finances. Currently Arkansas law requires that county governments make their financial status public only once per year, and only in the print newspaper with the largest circulation in the county. […]
State Mandates for County Fiscal Transparency are Outdated
In order to be effective citizens who insist upon and receive good government, voters must have information. How much do Arkansans know about the financial health of their county governments? Arkansas law (ACA § 14-21-102(b)) requires that county governments make their financial status public only once per year, and only in the print newspaper with […]
Taxes Take their Toll on Arkansas Manufacturing
By Mr. Jacob Bundrick Arkansas and the states belonging to its region continue to rely on the manufacturing industry for economic growth and jobs. Among its neighbors, however, Arkansas is the least competitive in the industry. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) data shows Arkansas’ manufacturing GDP has grown at an annual rate of less than […]