Introducing, The Arkansas Project Podcast

May 17, 2013 Leave a Comment
TAP podcast phone

(Click here to listen on your mobile device) We are proud to present to you the inaugural episode of The Arkansas Project Podcast. We are hoping to produce one show a week to keep you up-to-date on what's going on at the capitol. In the near future, the show will be available for download in the iTunes store, but for now, you can enjoy it here on the blog. For your reading pleasure, here are the stories we mention in the show today: Carter quote on "private" option opponents IRS … [Read more...]

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On the Arkansas Times, Part I

May 13, 2013 2 Comments
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One of the legislature’s most praiseworthy achievements this session was passing a “voter ID” bill. If you read the unsigned article in this week’s Arkansas Times, though, you’ll see a very different perspective on voter ID. Indeed, the Times explained: Republicans say the new law will protect the integrity of our elections; some may believe that. But there's no evidence of substantial in-person voter fraud, the only kind prevented by the new law. There is plenty of evidence, however, … [Read more...]

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Legislators to Convene With Saline Co. TEA Party Tonight

May 9, 2013 8 Comments
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Tonight, the Saline County Tea Party has scheduled a forum -- at Brown's Restaurant at 6:45 in Benton -- inviting their state legislators to discuss the Medicaid expansion / "private option" that many of them supported. The original invitation to legislators, from Ed Hairston of the Saline County Tea Party, read We have many members concerned about your vote on this bill, they have asked me to invite you to our next meeting on May 9th to convince us to continue to support you. After that, Ed … [Read more...]

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Senator Pryor’s Gun Re-Un-Conversion

May 6, 2013 4 Comments
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While you were enjoying time with your family around the fireplace on the first weekend of May, Senator Mark Pryor was working hard for YOU! In fact, on the new political talk show Capitol View yesterday, Rep. Darrin Williams (former chief of staff for Pryor) said, “Arkansas always comes first with Mark.” And when asked about Pryor’s recent stances on gun issues -- which clearly conflict with previous stances -- Williams said he thinks Pryor stands “with Arkansans.” For once, I can … [Read more...]

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The Health Care Boondoggle: Medicaid Doesn’t Improve Health Outcomes

May 2, 2013 4 Comments
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Any government program is, by definition, a failure -- unless it improves peoples’ lives. Some conservatives think that improving people’s lives through government is difficult at best (and sometimes impossible), and that the burden of proof is on the advocates of social programs to demonstrate that they truly help people. I tend to agree. So I watched in disbelief as many Arkansas Republican legislators recently went along with Governor Beebe’s plan to expand the Medicaid program -- … [Read more...]

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Will the Medicaid Expansion “Triggers” Fire?

April 16, 2013 2 Comments
MEDICAID EXPANSION: You can check out, but you can never leave.

The House just passed HB1219 which includes funding for Medicaid expansion. You can see how your representative voted here. The Senate is convening now to consider the measure, but before they pass it they should consider a new paper from Advance Arkansas Institute that outlines some of the legal concerns with "opting out" of expansion once we opt-in: Lawmakers have spent a substantial amount of time this session creating and designing this particular version of Medicaid expansion, which would … [Read more...]

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The Legislature’s Plan to Lock Arkansans Into Poverty

April 15, 2013 1 Comment
Medicaid state

The thinkers at Advance Arkansas Institute have released a new paper entitled, "How Medicaid Expansion (and the "Private Option") Will Lock Its Clients Into Poverty." The paper examines, among other things, how the healthcare plan being pushed through the legislature will trap the poor: Employers create jobs, and employers hire employees. The expansion of Medicaid will create large incentives for businesses both to reduce the work hours of their employees and to split full-time jobs into … [Read more...]

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Wow, Senator Rapert, That Was A Quick Three Weeks!

April 14, 2013 4 Comments
Before last year's election, Senator Rapert said expanding Medicaid would turn Arkansas into a "candy land" of entitlements.

Less than a week ago, Senator Jason Rapert announced at AAI’s Conway town hall that he wanted the legislature to delay passage of the “private option” Medicaid expansion. Less than 72 hours ago, Rapert reiterated his call for delay, specifying this time that the legislature needed to take three weeks off to go visit with constituents about the plan. Late last night, however, just 48 hours after re-issuing the call for delay across state media, Rapert announced his intentions to support the … [Read more...]

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