It’s been more than a decade since the Great Recession officially ended, and unemployment rates across the nation have reached historic lows. That’s also true in Arkansas, where the unemployment rate averaged 3.8 percent in 2018 based on an...
“Opportunity Zones,” But For Whom? Part of the 2017 federal tax cut bill, the “Tax Cut and Jobs Act,” created a new tax break meant to encourage investment in low-income areas. These “opportunity zones” allow for favorable capital gains...
Growing evidence shows that minimum wage increases help to increase take-home pay and reduce poverty without reducing employment. That’s why Arkansans overwhelmingly voted to raise the minimum wage in 2018. As we wrote last week, the CBO confirmed the...
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released a report analyzing the economic impact of raising the federal minimum wage to $15 in 2025. They find that a federal $15 minimum wage would boost worker pay, increase the income of...
Note: This blog is first in a series of posts covering the findings in the Annie E. Casey Foundation 2019 KIDS COUNT® Data Book. Read our press release about the Data Book here. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation 2019 KIDS...
There are efforts taking place in Washington that would change the way the federal poverty level is calculated, and the result would be to reduce or take away necessary assistance (food, health care, etc.) from millions of people living...
Today, April 15th, is tax day. As a society, we rely on taxes to maintain infrastructure and services we largely take for granted: public education, the roads and bridges we drive on, the water we drink, the health inspectors...
Arkansas has the chance to reduce the use of tobacco and tobacco-related products, while also reducing the financial burden placed on the state’s non-smokers, who help pay the health care costs associated with smoking. Arkansas’s adult smoking rate is...
The Arkansas Legislative Tax Reform and Relief Task Force’s recommendations would make the state’s tax system even more regressive than it already is. According to a new analysis by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and the Institute on...
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