The Arkansas Project

Beebe On Labor Unions

By David Kinkade - October 24, 2008 1:23 pm

Beebe takes Manhattan

In New York to pitch Arkansas as a great place to do business, Gov. Mike Beebe lands an interview with CNBC, where the interviewer asks him about labor unions, among other things.

Specifically, the reporter notes Barack Obama’s “pro-union” stance versus Arkansas-based Wal-Mart’s general “anti-union” stance, and asks Beebe how he squares “your loyalties to Wal-Mart and your loyalties to your party.” Beebe responds:

I’m a Democrat and I have a lot of friends and a lot of supporters that have been in the union, that were extraordinarily good to me.

However, having said that, in today’s business climate, in today’s world, with what’s going on right now, we don’t need to inhibit our business opportunities to be successful. We need to make sure that they have the jobs and they create the jobs and that they give the jobs for our workers to be able to have.

So right now is not the time, I think,  to do those things that inhibit further business activity.

Hmm. That sounds loosely “anti-union” to me. Is that how it sounds to you? If so, good for Gov. Beebe.

But does this mean that Beebe will lobby Arkansas’ five Congressional Democrats to vote against the union-backed “card check” legislation that will be a priority in the coming Democratic Congress? And which will be poised to become law if Obama ascends to the White House, as appears likely? Just asking.

Arkansas News Bureau columnist David Sanders dealt with Sen. Mark Pryor’s “ideological straddling” on the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” a few months back. Hey, did I mention I’ll be on Sanders’ AETN “Unconventional Wisdom” show tonight at 6:30 p.m.? I can’t remember if I mentioned that.

(Hat tip to Roby Brock’s BizBlog. Roby also interpreted Beebe’s remarks as a warning “against unionization efforts.”)

Forbes: Wal-Mart, Tyson Among ‘Most Generous’

By David Kinkade - October 18, 2008 4:44 pm

Forbes Magazine assesses charitable giving by major corporations, and two Arkansas companies score high marks: Wal-Mart is the most generous in terms of dollars donated, while Tyson Foods is the second most generous in terms of percentage of income donated.

Warren Stephens on the Tax Burden

By David Kinkade - October 15, 2008 5:54 am

In an unusual move, Arkansas investment banking big wheel Warren Stephens, chairman/CEO of Stephens Inc. and co-chair of the Arkansas for McCain campaign, takes to the bully pulpit to warn of the dire effects of higher taxation under a possible Barack Obama administration:

Warren Stephens

Our system could hardly be more weighted to having the wealthy pay more, yet that is precisely what Senator Obama proposes. I will reluctantly accept (for now) that in our society the top wage earners will pay more (in percentage terms) in taxes, but if Senator Obama wants to raise taxes, he should say so… Senator Obama’s plan is a redistribution of income from those who pay taxes to those who do not. It is nothing more than the granddaddy of all welfare plans and voters need to know it. For Senators Obama and Biden to couch this issue as one of fairness and a “patriotic duty” is an attempt to deceive the American public as to the facts.

Stephens points are well-taken, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and suggest that maybe a billionaire investment banker isn’t the ideal proponent for that message right now, even if he is one of our state’s leading corporate citizens.

Capsearch Joins the Arkansas Blogging Game

By David Kinkade - October 13, 2008 2:47 pm

A few weeks ago I directed your attention to Capsearch, the new web-based legislative tracking service for Arkansas spearheaded by Matt Price as some kind of joint venture with the gang at Arkansas Business Publishing.

Price e-mails today to say that the service is taking flight this week, and I’m happy to report that Capsearch will include some original content on Arkansas government, policy and politics, including “The Insiders’ Blog” run by Price and a few cronies.

And if you scroll down the page a bit, you’ll even see that one David Kinkade, that handsome devil who runs The Arkansas Project blog, will be contributing some occasional material to the Capsearch site.

I asked how much it paid, and Price said he’d give me “this bag of magic beans.” Naturally, I jumped at the chance, but the more I look at these beans, the more I think they’re not really “magic.” In fact, unless I miss my guess, they’re actually “pinto.”

Anyway, go give Capsearch some of your love and affection, and add it to your regular reading list.

Windy City

By David Kinkade - October 8, 2008 4:23 pm

The big jobs announcement I mentioned yesterday is something about alternative energy wind power 830 jobs something something something go read the AP.

Major Arkansas Jobs Announcement Wednesday?

By David Kinkade - October 7, 2008 3:55 pm

Via Roby Brock over at the Bizblog, we learn that there is a press conference at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce in which Gov. Mike Beebe and economic development officials will make a major jobs announcement for central Arkansas.

What could it be? So far, I’ve only been able to ascertain that it will not entail an expansion of The Arkansas Project World Headquarters and the hiring of a support staff for the blog’s operations, sorely needed though they both are. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission denied my grant application, arguing that “blogging is not a real job.” Jerks.

Wall St. Crisis Could Affect Arkansas

By David Kinkade - September 30, 2008 6:59 am

Next phase in the financial meltdown. The upside: That post-apocalyptic all-leather wardrobe is quite slimming.

Remember two weeks ago when various experts could say that the situation on Wall Street probably wouldn’t have too much effect on Arkansas? That assessment is no longer operative.

The Arkansas News Bureau’s James Jefferson and John Lyon report that the worsening situation could have significant negative impacts on the state economy, including slowing job growth, reduced access to credit, big hits to state retirement funds and a high stakes fight for survival in a “Road Warrior”-style primal desert wasteland. OK, I made that last one up, but you believed it, didn’t you?

Meanwhile, the much bally-hooed financial sector bail-out package flopped yesterday, though all four of Arkansas’ congressional reps voted for passage.

And the Jonesboro Sun rounds up response from a couple of profs who talk about what this might mean for northeast Arkansas.

Barber Nabbed on DWI

By David Kinkade - September 25, 2008 10:46 am

Brandon Barber

Get ready, because The Arkansas Project is about to go all “Smoking Gun” on your ass: It appears there’s more trouble for Northwest Arkansas bad boy real estate mogul Brandon Barber, who was reportedly picked up on a DWI charge in Fayetteville last night. Here’s the link to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office page with the arrest info, kindly passed along by a reader.

It’s not Barber’s first DWI — he was picked up in Sept. 2006 after he ran over some mailboxes and crashed into a utility pole, according to this Morning News of NWA report from last year.

Last month, the real estate hotshot’s company declared bankruptcy, which The Arkansas Project covered here. Arkansas Business has more on Barber’s business wheelings and dealings here.

Around the Arkansas ‘Sphere

By David Kinkade - September 20, 2008 10:54 am

From time to time, we like to take a look around the Arkansas blogosphere and point to some of the good work our friends and neighbors are doing:

Jason Tolbert at The Tolbert Report likes the idea of an annual sales tax holiday in Arkansas, which retailers pitched to legislators this week, and he rounds up responses from a couple of candidates in the Saline County area.

Steve Harrelson at Under the Dome takes a look at a potential legislative proposal to allow mini-trucks (off-road vehicles popular with farmers for their fuel efficiency) to be driven on Arkansas roads.

The Fayetteville Flyer launches a debate on the Arkansas lottery proposal, and readers weigh in. Meanwhile, Blake Rutherford’s Think Tank doesn’t believe that the court challenge to stop the lottery proposal will stand up.

The Griffin Room has advice for John McCain on how to deal with the current economic meltdown on the campaign trail. For a more localized approach to recent economic developments, Roby Brock’s BizBlog takes a look at how Arkansas companies’ stocks held up over the course of this week’s market roller-coaster.

The Val’s Bien blog is all behind a legislative proposal to make animal cruelty a felony in the next session of the General Assembly.

And Arkansas Project contributor Freeman Hunt, over at her home base blog, has a nice recap of recent campaign lies, exaggerations and distortions from the Barack Obama camp, which suggests that the “Hope and Change” mantra amounts to little more than a smokescreen for politics as usual.

Over at the Arkansas Times blog, Max Brantley is waxing grumpy about government bail-outs in the financial sector, and who can blame him? Max is irritable because of the effect of this week’s market activity on his retirement account, and I’ll add to the complaint: If you’re self-employed like me, you had to send a hefty check to the IRS on Monday to settle your quarterly tax obligation. I don’t usually go in for simplistic populist posturing, but somehow it makes me even less enthusiastic about paying those taxes just to know they’re going to prop up some overextended hotshots on Wall Street.

And considering that, it’s pretty clear that Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden could not have picked a worse week to lecture us on how paying more taxes is a patriotic responsibility, as noted here by the Citizens Journal blog. I think I speak for everybody when I say that it would be a great idea if someone were to kick Joe Biden in the groin.

Tourism Ads to Focus on Arkansas Destinations

By David Kinkade - September 20, 2008 5:40 am

A new  Department of Parks and Tourism advertising campaign to promote tourism in the state will focus on destinations within Arkansas, rather than promoting the state as a whole, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Laura Stevens reports. (OK, reported Friday—I meant to post this yesterday.)

Say, wasn’t this the subject of a John Brummett column, like, two weeks ago? It sure was.

But I’m guessing those greedy advertising sharpies at Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods won’t cut Brummett in on the action any time soon. They’re probably walking around in their slick suits, acting like it was all their idea and pocketing fat checks, while poor Brummett will have to keep pounding out five columns a week for a pauper’s wage at Stephens Media. There’s no justice, I tells ya.

In a related note, last night I was watching Telemundo Univision (seriously, I love it) and saw a Spanish-language ad promoting vacations in Arkansas, which I’d never seen before. What was strange about it was that, other than translating the voice-over into Spanish, it didn’t appear they had tailored the ad to target a Hispanic audience in any other way. Unless people from Mexico fantasize about going antiquing in Hot Springs, in which case I learned something today.

Wal-Mart, Dillards Push for Sales Tax Holiday

By David Kinkade - September 18, 2008 2:55 pm

Retail giant Wal-Mart and Arkansas-based department store chain Dillards both endorsed an annual sales tax holiday for Arkansas today, the AP reports. Retailers testifying before a legislative committee love the notion, and there’s some bipartisan interest from legislators—but Gov. Mike Beebe may be a sticking point.

Story notes that a proposed three day sales tax holiday would require the state to forgo an estimated $5 million in sales tax revenue, though there’s no estimate as to how that total might be offset by increased consumer purchases during the holiday.

Walton Gives $75K to Lottery Foes

By David Kinkade - September 16, 2008 6:06 am

This state lottery debate may get interesting yet—Jim Walton of the Wal-Mart and Arvest Bank empires has ponied up $75,000 to the Arkansas Family Council to combat the lottery initiative pushed by Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.

Family Council honcho says the funds were unexpected, but will likely go toward radio and newspaper advertising, the Arkansas News Bureau’s John Lyon reports.

Update: Halter has a previously scheduled news conference about the lottery at 10 a.m. at the State Capitol.

Capsearch: New Legislative Tracking Service for Arkansas

By David Kinkade - September 15, 2008 9:45 am

There’s a new kid on the block for tracking legislative activity and political doings in Arkansas. I just got word that Capsearch, a new web-based venture spearheaded by Matt Price, a former staffer for Mike Beebe and a former policy analyst for the Southern Good Faith Fund here in Little Rock, is getting ready to go live. The only other service providing legislative tracking services for Arkansas, as far as I know, is the Arkansas Legislative Digest.

Update: As I was writing this, Price replies to an e-mail query I’d sent with this link from Arkansas Business, which is apparently an investor in Capsearch, providing a little more info.

Thus ends the Arkansas Project’s latest shameless plug for a friend’s new venture.

Minutemen Guy: ‘Candidates Ignoring Immigration’

By David Kinkade - September 7, 2008 10:52 am

Gilchrist on illegal immigration: Fighting yesterday's war?

An interesting story I missed in yesterday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minutemen Project devoted to combating illegal immigration, spoke Friday at the Clinton School for Public Service in Little Rock, and pronounced himself displeased with both major party presidential candidates.

Gilchrist argued that Barack Obama and John McCain are sidestepping the issue of illegal immigration because it’s “too controversial” and “they don’t want to deal with it,” reporter Evin Demirel writes.

I’ve suggested before in this space that illegal immigration as a political issue, after generating lots of grassroots heat in 2006 and 2007, is waning. In general, it’s never shown itself to be a proven vote-mover, except in some localized circumstances, and the hard-line restrictionist line that Gilchrist peddles has little traction with a broader audience. In our state, the Secure Arkansas ballot initiative fell on its face, not even landing enough signatures to make the ballot.

If Obama and McCain are “ignoring” the issue, it’s not because it’s “too controversial.” It’s because they’re looking at the realities of their polling and the mood of the electorate and judging that it can be safely ignored at no real cost to their candidacies.

That’s not to say that illegal immigration doesn’t represent real problems for many communities. Obviously, it does, and many schools, hospitals and local governments are struggling with those challenges. But Gilchrist and company are not providing a compelling or realistic argument for what needs to come next.

Class Act Award: To the audience at the Clinton School, a crowd I’ll venture was not in tune with Gilchrist’s message, for offering the man a fair hearing and civil questioning.

No Power to the Project

By David Kinkade - September 4, 2008 2:07 pm

The irony of the slogan speaks for itself, David noted.

Hey, look at that: Thirty-six hours and Entergy still has not restored power to The Arkansas Project World Headquarters. Moreover, they’ve backed away from even offering the phony, “we’re just pulling these out of our ass” estimates they’ve been peddling for the last day and half.

Entergy, you just made The Arkansas Project Enemies List, along with the Arkansas Milk Stabilization Board and Mike Huckabee’s band, Capitol Offense. And my take on Sarah Palin’s speech probably won’t be coming later today, at this rate.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go shopping for a new butter churn and some wicks and whale tallow for making my own candles, as I apparently live in the 19th century now.

Update: Power at last restored around 3 p.m. Thursday. But Entergy remains on the enemies list. The Arkansas Project has a long memory, my friends.

Your Government at Work: Mad Cow Madness

By Freeman Hunt - September 2, 2008 10:52 am

Wow, that is one mad cow.

If an Arkansas meatpacking company wanted to test all incoming animals for mad cow disease to ease the fears of its foreign customers, you’d think the USDA would be fine with that. In fact, you might even think it would be none of the USDA’s business.

And if the USDA was so ridiculous as to deny access to the mad cow testing kits, you’d think that the meatpacking company could file a successful lawsuit and gain access to them.

But you, reasonable person, would be wrong on every count.

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef LLC, a small Arkansas packer, filed suit on March 23, 2006, to gain access to mad-cow test kits. It said it wanted to test every animal at its plant to assure foreign buyers that the meat was safe to eat. …

In a 25-page ruling, Appellate Judges Karen Henderson and Judith Rogers said USDA has authority under the 1913 Virus-Serum-Toxin Act to prevent sale of mad-cow test kits to meatpackers. …

USDA allows the mad-cow test kits to be sold only to laboratories that it approves. It says the tests should not be used as a marketing tool and the cattle that comprise the bulk of the meat supply are too young to be tested reliably.

Is the USDA asserting that Creekstone’s foreign buyers are incapable of taking into account the effectiveness of the test on young cattle? “You, mere masses, cannot be trusted to make rational choices. Therefore, we, the great, protective bureaucracy have descended from on high to regulate what you may or may not consider.” Gee, thanks.

And as for the USDA’s assertion that the tests should not be used as a marketing tool, why not? Why shouldn’t a company be able to market its product by citing the scientific testing it does? This, my friends, is government regulation run amok.

Arkansas’ Image Problem

By David Kinkade - August 26, 2008 1:01 pm

Arkansas has an image problem, according to Roby Brock over at the Talk Business blog: A two-year study commissioned by state tourism and economic development officials reveals that folks outside Arkansas perceive the Natural State as an unappealing destination. I blame this on you.

More on the Milk Tax

By David Kinkade - August 25, 2008 7:19 am

Don't have a cow, man

I’ve harped on the Arkansas Milk Stabilization Board a couple of times in the last week (here and here). The board is considering a “fee” to be imposed on milk wholesalers to help bail out the state’s struggling dairy farmers, which, any way you slice it, has to be seen as a stealth grocery tax that will be passed on to consumers.

Rob Moritz of the Arkansas News Bureau reported on the matter yesterday, and digs up a compelling statistic:

In the past 15 years, the number of family-owned dairy farms in the state has dropped more than 80 percent from more than 800 to less than 160. (emphasis added)

Arkansas’ dairy farmers, who once produced all of the milk processed in the state, now produce just 25 percent, with the rest shipped into the state.

Consider that for a moment: The number of dairy farms in Arkansas has dropped by 80 percent….yet we’ve seen no disruption in supply or significant price increases. Why, I was just at the store last week, and sure enough, those coolers were full of milk, butter, cheese—every dairy product you could want.

So when advocates of this fee try to tell us that it’s needed to ensure a supply of milk for Arkansas, they can be safely ignored, right? Supply concerns are simply not relevant to the debate, given the innovations in transportation and refrigeration that have allowed Arkansas to enjoy a reliable and safe supply of milk from other states.

And a “to his credit” moment: Democratic legislator Johnny Hoyt of Morrilton, who sponsored the legislation to create the milk board in 2007, is dubious of the fee proposal in the Moritz story:

I do have concerns that (a fee) would be passed on to consumers. I think this would be a hard sell to the Legislature,” he said. “I wanted (the board) to find a way to help dairy farmers … I’m hoping they’ll continue to look at other options.

The board meets again Sept. 18, Moritz reports, to consider the milk tax. The Arkansas Grocers and Retail Merchants Association is also on record opposing the proposal.

Update: In the comments section, readers debate my “no significant price increases” statement about the price of milk. To clarify: Obviously, milk is more expensive today than it was in 1993, and it’s gone up quite a bit even in the last year (as have pretty much all food prices).

But that seems to be more a function of higher prices generally and a function of multiple factors aside from the number of dairy farms in Arkansas, of which there are significantly fewer. And the milk tax proponents aren’t making the argument that their scheme will make milk less expensive—they want to boost the cost further by imposing a fee to benefit dairy farmers.

“A Fairytale Come True”!

By David Kinkade - August 21, 2008 4:20 pm

The Barbers in happier times: "Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"

By now, you’ve no doubt read of the rather spectacular bankruptcy declaration of Brandon Barber, the Northwest Arkansas real estate development wunderkind who was a whole lot less wunder-ful than it may have once seemed. I’m assuming you’ve read of it, because at least three of you have e-mailed me this afternoon pointing me to the story about the bankruptcy in Arkansas Business.

I’m presuming that those e-mails are not being circulated as expressions of sympathy for Brandon Barber.

But rather than dwell on the negative, let’s look back to the halcyon days of December 2005, when Barber and his lovely wife Keri were the targets of this long wet kiss of a profile in Citiscapes Metro Monthly, a Northwest Arkansas magazine. Read this and you will discover fascinating facts about the Barbers, such as:

Brandon and Keri “are not the stereotypical developers,” and “their amazing story reads like a fairytale come true”!

“Keri, with her charm and beauty, certainly doesn’t take a back seat when it comes to business”!

“Brandon seldom stresses over business. He loves what he does and he’s always able to fall asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow”! (His lenders are probably reading that passage ruefully today)

“Brandon loves almonds. Keri said she snacks on peanut butter crackers from the convenience store”!

The story concludes with this nugget from the interviewer:

After spending time with the Barbers, there’s not a doubt in my mind that 20 years from now we’ll look around and see the mark that Keri and Brandon have left on Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas. Today’s new subdivisions will then be filled with mature-landscaped homes, the commercial buildings will have taken on a familiarity and become landmarks, the upscale condos will be populated and somewhere a 30-year-old entrepreneur will give credit to the talented and forward-thinking Mr. and Mrs. Barber.

Ah, what a difference three years make. It almost reads like the plot of a Tom Wolfe novel, doesn’t it? But seriously, I really hope those kids make it….

Oh, one other thing: When I’m not working on this ridiculous blog, I actually make my living as a freelance writer, a career path that requires a certain degree of flexibility and occasional compromise if one likes to eat regularly. That said, if you ever catch me writing a craven puff piece like this profile, please do me a favor and shoot me in the freakin’ head.

Milking Consumers

By David Kinkade - August 21, 2008 12:49 pm

Milk prices: Consumers are holding out for a hero.

Earlier this week, I wrote about the Arkansas Milk Stabilization Board, a scam an entity created by the Arkansas legislature in 2007 to seek out solutions to salvage the state’s dying dairy industry.

Agriculture Secretary Richard Bell is floating an idea for a “fee” (read: tax increase) to be levied by the state on milk wholesalers, with the proceeds going to the state’s 145 remaining dairy farmers. The board is considering taking Bell’s proposal to the legislature.

But Bell and the Arkansas Milk Stabilization Board may want to first study up on what’s going on in Puerto Rico, where it looks like they’ve got it figured out:

When Wal-Mart started selling milk for $1.46 per quart in Puerto Rico, state regulators sprang into action to put a stop to the low prices. It seems the state government sets a floor threshold for milk prices to protect the local milk industry, and Wal-Mart’s price was 36 cents too low. Damn you, Wal-Mart! Is there no end to your treachery?

Ah, but worry not—Wal-Mart was warned and will reportedly raise their prices to meet the regulatory standard.

So there you go, Richard Bell and the Arkansas Milk Stabilization Board: A new approach to sticking it to consumers on behalf of a narrow special interest that you may not have considered yet. You can read all about it in this AP story. Don’t say I didn’t do my part to help.