by - October 26, 2014 8:42 pm
Praising the Private Option
During his recent trip to Louisiana, Bill Clinton took time in his speech to thank the people of Louisiana. He thanked them for playing a role in paying for Arkansans’…
Guest Commentary
by The City Wire staff - October 19, 2014 5:59 pm
Striking down the voter ID law
The Arkansas Supreme Court, waiting until almost the last minute, finally affirmed what Gov. Mike Beebe tried to tell the Legislature back in 2013. And that was this: Any tweaking…
by The City Wire staff - October 19, 2014 4:27 pm
The ‘when?’ of business ownership
Owning a small business is no easy task. Starting a business from scratch, however, requires a mental deficiency or youth. My own excuse decades ago was youth. There are advantages…
by The City Wire staff - October 19, 2014 4:10 pm
Too much ‘fight’ in Cotton’s campaigning
Dear Congressman Cotton: Conventional political wisdom buttressed by successive survey data suggests that you represent one of the best opportunities Republicans have in their effort to take over the U.S….
by The City Wire staff - October 12, 2014 2:04 pm
AP scores show gains in Arkansas’ education system
Education continues to be our top priority in Arkansas, and we know that one of our biggest educational challenges is increasing the number of Arkansans who earn college degrees. This…
by The City Wire staff - October 6, 2014 3:36 pm
Try to avoid federal ‘help’
The U.S. Department of Labor Promises help is on the way. What comforting words … help is on the way. But why don’t I feel better? “Work in Progress,” the…
by The City Wire staff - October 5, 2014 7:43 pm
Raising the tax code Titanic
As elections approach, we hear much about what candidates and potential office holders will do when they arrive in Washington, D.C. One of the constant themes is the need to…
by The City Wire staff - October 5, 2014 7:38 pm
Positive policy development
For too many years, when Arkansans talked about the price of their health insurance, good news was rare. For decades, costs have increased annually, hurting working families and leading to…
by The City Wire staff - September 28, 2014 4:51 pm
Economic engines
In Arkansas, economic development manifests itself in many ways. In the past 10 days, we've seen a constant stream of announcements that will bring good jobs and new opportunities to…
by The City Wire staff - September 22, 2014 4:25 pm
A population problem
“Population growth drives about half of all economic growth,” according to Thomas Piketty, the author of the bestselling book Capital in the 21st Century. If population growth accounts for about…
by The City Wire staff - September 14, 2014 2:54 pm
A primer on Iraq’s troubled history
My last post, which I wrote soon after the troubles began in Iraq, noted that the treasure and blood we poured out into the sands of Iraq had not brought…
by The City Wire staff - September 8, 2014 10:17 pm
Telling stories so we never forget
Thirteen years ago this Thursday our world changed. The unimaginable happened. We will never forget that morning: where we were, who we were with, what we saw, what we said,…
by The City Wire staff - September 7, 2014 9:48 pm
Science and technology necessary for jobs
With every passing year, science and technology grow more and more important to economic success. It is research that fuels technology's advances and creates opportunities for tomorrow. Therefore, one of…
by The City Wire staff - September 3, 2014 7:59 pm
A wrong approach to student loan debt
As the former director of the Arkansas Employment Security Division (now the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services), and a professor of human resources development for Webster University, I have long…
by The City Wire staff - September 2, 2014 8:44 pm
The reason why beef prices are so darn high
About a year ago I wrote an article entitled “Cattle markets move past summer lows.” The title of this article reflects how far we have come and serves as a…
by The City Wire staff - September 1, 2014 9:36 pm
Get unstuck
Business owners are trained to think about the future. There are seminars on goal settings, business planning, and budgeting. There are books on management succession, strategic planning and disaster recovery…
by The City Wire staff - September 1, 2014 8:08 pm
Another Pryor commitment
Dear Senator Mark Pryor: Successive survey data and most political handicappers suggest that you would have a tougher time getting re-elected this coming November than you have ever had in…
by The City Wire staff - September 1, 2014 8:04 pm
UTeach participants needed
Another academic year is underway, and we are one step closer to 2020. That is the predicted date when three-fourths of the jobs in Arkansas will require advanced skills in…
by The City Wire staff - August 24, 2014 1:14 pm
What is your default future?
Most people can predict and foresee their future. Granted we can’t see specific things like the date of our death or what the Dow Jones average will be in on…
by The City Wire staff - August 17, 2014 10:51 am
Presidents, war and the ‘requisite skills’
In my last posting I wrote about the constitutional power of Congress in the act of taking the nation to war. The founding fathers seemed adamant on the idea that…