Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families released a statement yesterday regarding HB 1056, filed by Uvalde Lindsey (D-88, Fayetteville) and joined by over 40 additional Representatives and Senators, which would provide an exemption from income taxes for poor single parents.…
Category: Economics
Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In (At 520% Interest)
Via Jason Tolbert, I see that Steve Brawner has written in defense of Senate Bill 586, which would carve certain exceptions to the constitutional 17-percent interest rate cap for loans under $5000. (In case you were wondering, that would be…
Mid-Day Miscellany
“Well, if it was a link-dump, I wouldn’t ask questions; I’d just quote a price. But then, a link-dump is a non-lethal object, isn’t it?” Content partner Roby Brock reports that opinions are pretty varied on two specific tax cuts…
All Hail Your New Oligarchy Overlords
Accelerated in large part by the truly execrable Citizens United decision, America is quickly sliding into an oligarchy. Sadly, this is no longer hyperbole: we’ve always known many politicians were nothing more than puppets for the rich, they simply don’t…
This Week In Facepalm: Reps. Edwards, Steel, and Vines
Lost in the drama of the Democrat co-sponsors trying to have their names removed from unconstitutional HB 1002 last week was an accounting of which Democrats actually voted for the bill. There were nine such votes, to wit: John Catlett*…
Rep. Hubbard, Your Village Is On Line 2. They Miss You.
You know that old saw about how “it’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt”? Representative Jon Hubbard (R-Jonesboro) doesn’t buy into that idea one bit. Today, during the discussions on…
Econ 101: The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves
Rep. Ed Garner’s hypothesis, plainly stated, is this: we will encourage more companies to come here and create more jobs, making everyone’s life better in the long run, if we just remove the capital gains tax on new investments. Implicit…
Econ 101: On Deficit Spending
As long as we’re knee-deep in economic theory today, I thought I’d touch on something else that’s been bouncing around the Blue Hog Hollowed-Out Volcano Lair: the deficit. After all, you can’t turn on national news these days without hearing…
AR-House Dist. 41: Oh, Now I Get It
After writing the previous post about Ed Garner’s HB 1002, I started to wonder why, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, Garner was so hell-bent on repealing the tax. I mean, I’m not the only one saying…
Econ 101: Incorrect Statements In Video Form, by Ed Garner
Rep. Ed Garner’s HB 1002, his effort to remove Arkansas’s already preferential capital gains rate, is due to be discussed in the House Revenue & Tax Committee today. I’ve written extensively about this measure, both in the abstract and in…