The Arkansas Project

Happy (Belated) Tax Freedom Day, Arkansas: You Now Have Permission To Keep Your Money

April 15, 2014 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

Today is April 15th, the day that federal tax filings are due. (We hope this doesn’t come as a surprise to any of you.) So this seems like the perfect time to talk about how awful taxes are in America! While today is (unfortunately) Tax Day, I want to be sure you know also know the good news about Tax Freedom Day. This is the day of the year that the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for year. A good way to think about this is that, up until Tax Freedom Day, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Tax Reform Tagged With: AAI, Arkansas, Policy, tax day, tax foundation, tax freedom day, taxes

Damon Wallace’s Degree Problem

April 14, 2014 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

I’ve written in some detail about Damon Wallace’s financial troubles. Not only does this candidate for House District 96 have thousands in IRS debts, but he also failed to disclose some of the debts he owed to local governments in northwest Arkansas. (The worst-case scenario under Arkansas law is that this kind of error in disclosure could lead to fines and jail time.) Stunningly, Wallace explained some of his financial problems to Larry Henry of 5News by saying “I wasn’t trying to hide it. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2014 Republican Primaries, Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Politics, Arkansas Republicans Tagged With: Damon Wallace, diploma mill, GOP, House District 96, LaSalle University, legislature, Louisiana, Republican primary

The Ar-Kansas Project Podcast

April 11, 2014 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

This week on The Arkansas Project Podcast: Breaking down Wednesday's AG debate (full video of the debate here) Forbes article outlines "private" option cost overruns Monty Python's Argument Clinic The "private" option competition that doesn't exist Sebelius Greatest Hits, via WSJ … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Arkansas, Attorney General debate, David Sterling, death penalty, electric chair, health care, Leslie Rutledge, Medicaid expansion, obamacare, Patricia Nation, private option

The Competition Vacuum in the “Private” Option

April 11, 2014 Dan Greenberg 1 Comment

You might recall that one of the selling points of the “private” option was market competition. Competition among insurance carriers was going to lower prices and improve the quality of services. Indeed, the actuaries who estimated the costs of the “private” option relied on the low prices that competition would create. Our insurance commissioner even explained that the high number of carriers that were participating – four! – was triggered by the “private” option. In reality, market … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Politics, Obamacare, Private Option Tagged With: Blue Cross Blue Shield, collapse, competition, DHS, Government, health care, Medicaid expansion, obamacare, private option, QualChoice, spending, taxes

GOP Senate Primaries, Round 4: Burris vs. Flippo vs. Osmon

April 10, 2014 Nic Horton 2 Comments

As part of our continuing series of articles on the various GOP primaries across the state, we now turn our attention to state Senate District 17. After state Senator Johnny Key announced he would not seek re-election so that he could pursue a better paying career with the University of Arkansas, three candidates filed to replace him: Representative John Burris, business owner Scott Flippo, and Mountain Home Mayor Dave Osmon, all Republicans. Unlike my previous GOP Senate primary articles, I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2014 Republican Primaries, Arkansas Legislature, Private Option Tagged With: Arkansas, Dave Osmon, Harrison, health care, john burris, Johnny Key, Mountain Home, obamacare, Policy, Politics, private option, Republican primary, Scott Flippo, Senate District 17

Live-Stream: GOP Attorney General Debate

April 9, 2014 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

Live streaming video by Ustream … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2014 Republican Primaries, Arkansas Politics Tagged With: Arkansas, Attorney General debate, GOP, Policy, Politics, republican

“There Is A Lot Wrong” With This Forbes Article, But Legislators Are Too Busy To Explain

April 9, 2014 Nic Horton 1 Comment

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Yesterday, Forbes published an insightful piece about the Arkansas Obamacare “private” option. The bottom line for Arkansas taxpayers: for the second month in a row, the “private” option costs are well above projections and above the federal cap. The Forbes article (authored by Josh Archambault and Jonathan Ingram of the Foundation for Government Accountability) outlines what could happen if “private” option costs continue to climb: ...under terms of the waiver signed by Governor Beebe and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Politics, Private Option Tagged With: David Sanders, Forbes, Foundation for Government Accountability, health care, Jonathan Ingram, Josh Archambault, Medicaid expansion, Mike Beebe, nate bell, obamacare, Policy, Politics, private option

Tonight: GOP Attorney General Candidates Face Off

April 9, 2014 Nic Horton Leave a Comment

That moment you’ve all been waiting for is almost here: AAI’s Attorney General debate at Bowen Law School is tonight at 6:00 p.m. If you can make it, please join us a few minutes before 6:00 so you can greet the candidates and get a good seat. The event will take place in the law school’s courtroom on the first floor of the building. For directions to Bowen, click here. The debate should wrap up no later than 7:30 p.m. and will feature all three Republican candidates for AG -- Patricia … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2014 Republican Primaries Tagged With: Attorney General debate, Bowen school of law, David Sterling, GOP, Leslie Rutledge, Patricia Nation, Republicans