Hard times ahead for Arkansas families?

People who are between jobs could face harder times ahead because of a bill that threatens to cut public benefits. Honest folks who are still struggling to find work in a weak job market could have their unemployment benefits reduced or eliminated because of House Bill 1489. This bill is bad for families. Taking away […]

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Reducing soda pop tax will take the fizz out of Medicaid

A new bill filed this week will affect the daily life of many Arkansans not by saving them money on soda, but by cutting funding to Medicaid. SB725 does two things. First, it reduces the overall tax on the syrup that makes soft drinks and second, it changes the way that syrup is taxed. Right […]

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Reducing youth incarceration in Arkansas

In April 2014, when Desha County Sheriff Jim Snyder read a newspaper article about AACF’s report “Why Detention is Not Always the Answer”, he called to let us know this was something he knew about first hand. As a small town sheriff he’s seen young children being transported to juvenile detention centers in handcuffs; young […]

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New Bill for Working Families

A bill for the Working Families Opportunity Act (WFOA) was filed last week and, if passed, it would be the first of its kind in Arkansas and a huge step towards reducing poverty for hard working families in our state. WFOA is a tax credit that piggybacks on the federal version that is already in […]

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AACF Weekly Legislative Update Vol. 8

March 6, 2015

Despite another week of snow and ice, it was an eventful week at the Capitol. With Monday’s filing deadline for non-appropriation bills fast approaching, a number of bills are being filed that we are reviewing. HEALTH: The effort to allow...

Hard times ahead for Arkansas families?

March 4, 2015

People who are between jobs could face harder times ahead because of a bill that threatens to cut public benefits. Honest folks who are still struggling to find work in a weak job market could have their unemployment benefits...

Reducing soda pop tax will take the fizz out of Medicaid

March 3, 2015

A new bill filed this week will affect the daily life of many Arkansans not by saving them money on soda, but by cutting funding to Medicaid. SB725 does two things. First, it reduces the overall tax on the...

February revenue above forecast

March 3, 2015

Growth in net general revenue collections for February and the year as a whole could allow policymakers to boost funding for education, healthcare, and other services. Revenue from February was higher than this time last year by about $6.2...

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Education in the Post Lake View Era

February 19, 2015

When Keith A. Nitta, then of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, and I developed our 2008 study “Arkansas Education in the Post-Lake View Era: What Is Arkansas Doing to Close the Achievement Gap?,” Arkansas was...

Child Poverty in Northwest Arkansas

January 29, 2015

Even during relatively “good” economic times in Northwest Arkansas, child poverty has grown faster than the overall population. As our region has grown more successful, many of our children have fallen behind. While the region’s poverty percentage is lower than that of most of...

Arkansas’s Private Option Works for Families and our Economy

January 6, 2015

In 2013, one out of four Arkansans did not have health insurance. Thousands of low-income Arkansans made too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to receive financial help in the health insurance Marketplace (through tax subsidies). Arkansas faced...

Creating a Prosperous Future: Reducing Poverty in Arkansas

December 17, 2014

Imagine you’re exhausted. You’ve worked for the past 20 hours straight, your son has a cold that has gotten worse over the last week and your daycare won’t let him come back until he’s fever-free. You have to take...

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