Despite the desperate need for pre-K funding, lawmakers sank their teeth into a nice, juicy capital gains tax cut for the rich this session. Fighting to keep state coffers adequately filled with tax dollars feels like announcing the tired...
Children from lower-income families have fewer resources, and this directly impacts a child’s brain development. A new study published by Nature Neuroscience adds to a growing body of evidence that “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” isn’t as simple as...
The tax collections that fund statewide programs like pre-K, education and roads took a dip last month, but are still ahead of schedule for the year as a whole. Because Arkansas requires a balanced budget according to the Revenue...
It could be time to say goodbye to the most progressive part of Asa Hutchinson’s tax plan, the part that scales back capital gains tax cuts for the super-rich. Under the governor’s plan, the capital gains tax exemption had...
The Arkansas legislature recently struck a huge blow to unemployment insurance by passing HB1489, (now Act 412) which reduces total benefits to unemployed workers by $50 million a year. It also lowers the number of weeks a worker can...
The poorest Arkansans may be forced to submit to intrusive drug tests before receiving TANF or SNAP benefits because of three new bills (HB1924, HB1785, and SB600). Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a program that helps pregnant...
The wealthiest Arkansans might be bringing home a little more tax-free money thanks to Representative Shepherd’s bill (HB1402) that would reinstate the 2013 capital gains tax cuts benefiting mostly wealthy and upper-income taxpayers. Earlier this session, Governor Hutchinson’s Middle...
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...
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...
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...