Two outstanding critiques of some recent false claims that the poor don’t pay taxes landed on our desks today. The first, from our sister organization in Iowa. Peter Fisher, research director of the Iowa Policy Project, notes that the...
Arkansas Kids DO Count: What it takes to be ranked #1 It would be nice to tell others that the people of Arkansas care more about their children and youth than any other state. It would certainly be reassuring...
Here’s a great wrap-up of a recent study out of Oregon on the effectiveness of Medicaid. From Joan Alker at the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University: As we all engage in defense of the Medicaid program...
Now that Congress has averted a federal government shutdown, all eyes turn to the 2012 budget. President Obama announced his budget proposal in February, and recently House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R – WI) announced his budget proposal....
A bill to fix an error in low-income income tax relief has passed House unanimously; a similar effort in 2009 died in the Senate. LITTLE ROCK – Nearly 50,000 single-parent families with two or more children would get the...
We all want to believe that the worst of the recession is behind us. That people who have lost their jobs are finding work. Sadly, we’re not there yet. Families are still struggling and jobs aren’t readily available for...
(First in a five-part series) As we watch both the national and Arkansas economies struggle out of the recession, many of us wonder what we can do to protect our communities and working families from a future crisis of...
Arkansas is a Low Tax State, But Not for Families Living in Poverty Recently released data from the Census Bureau confirms that overall, Arkansas could be considered a “low tax state.” However, families living near or below the poverty...
The state Legislative Task Force on Reducing Poverty and Promoting Economic Opportunity will conduct a town hall meeting in Northwest Arkansas on May 26th as part of its statewide effort to create a more coordinated, comprehensive effort to reduce poverty...
From our partners at the Half in Ten project: Tell the Senate to Create Over 2 Million Jobs in Low-Income Communities The Senate is considering legislation to spur job creation, but it isn’t clear if the bill will include...