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...
State and local policymakers can take four key steps to better integrate immigrants, including immigrants who are undocumented, into the mainstream economy and foster community well-being, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities....
Did you know that the Arkansas Supreme Court requires the state to conduct an ongoing study of whether Arkansas is providing an “adequate” and “equitable” public education to all students? Over half of our state’s budget is spent on...
The Trump administration is moving forward with its effort to radically change the federal policy under which immigrants are deemed a “public charge.” Unless the rule change is defeated in a legal challenge, we can expect millions of children...
by John Cook, Ph.D., M.A.Ed., Research Scientist and Principal Investigator, Children’s HealthWatch; Richard Sheward, MPP, Deputy Director of Innovative Partnerships, Children’s HealthWatch; Bruno Showers, Senior Policy Analyst, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families; and Eduardo Ochoa, Jr., MD, Principal Investigator,...
It’s Wednesday, July 24, 2019 — 91 days after the legislative session officially adjourned on April 24, 2019. What’s so special about today? All bills passed by the state legislature become laws 91 days upon adjournment (unless they contained...
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...
In May, the federal government asked for comments on changing how it calculates the poverty line (read our previous blog post on this topic). The federal poverty line represents the smallest amount of money that a family will need...
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