Guest Commentary

by The City Wire staff - January 20, 2013 6:36 pm

Staying under 50

An obstacle to small business growth beginning in 2014 is the provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires businesses with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees to provide their…

by The City Wire staff - January 17, 2013 6:26 pm

The confidence factor

Confidence is a funny thing. The mere existence of confidence about the future among the players in an economy can lead to growth, while the absence of assurance often guarantees…

by The City Wire staff - January 15, 2013 7:34 am

To hell with political parties

The movers, shakers, entrepreneurs, job creators and individual Americans have become the pawns of the federal government. Washington is displaying the most inept leadership, anti-business environment and confusion that I…

by The City Wire staff - January 14, 2013 2:43 pm

The Session begins

After all the talking, scheming, and planning, it is time to begin. Monday marks the first day of the 89th General Assembly, and it will look quite different from anything…

by The City Wire staff - December 30, 2012 9:58 am

Allow for campus defense

The Arkansas State Legislature will once again consider if concealed carry will apply to the campuses of state colleges and universities. Good. Maybe this time, they’ll get it right. Those…

by The City Wire staff - December 27, 2012 8:35 pm

2013 housing market outlook

It’s safe to say that members of the real estate business will look back at 2012 as one of the best years when it comes to low mortgage rates. For…

by The City Wire staff - December 27, 2012 7:47 pm

The rate game

It seems that mortgage interest rates are difficult to predict. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen both economists and mortgage bankers trying to figure out when rates will…

by The City Wire staff - December 21, 2012 10:54 am

Legislative uncertainty is certain

Uncertainty reigns supreme as the 2013 Arkansas legislative session approaches. There are many big issues to address in a timely manner, and most will not be settled until the last…

by The City Wire staff - December 20, 2012 5:11 pm

Ready to serve

It was only two days after the election when The City Wire asked me to write a guest commentary. I quickly agreed, thinking December was a long time away, but…

by The City Wire staff - December 18, 2012 6:28 pm

When will the cows come home? Part III

Previous articles (Parts 1 and 2) have discussed several challenges and opportunities related to the how and where of rebuilding the U.S. cattle herd. This article discusses the most important…

by The City Wire staff - December 9, 2012 2:44 pm

A cab driver’s smirk

I was riding in a taxicab last Tuesday night in Manhattan after seeing the Broadway musical "Wicked." My wife, her sister, and a friend were riding in the back seat,…

by The City Wire staff - December 6, 2012 12:33 pm

Will the cows come home? Part 1

Can we rebuild the beef cow herd? That was the question posed to me by a producer in response to my recent article suggesting that two years of drought liquidation,…

by The City Wire staff - December 3, 2012 10:55 am

The benefits of ‘Vendorville’

Years from now when they write the story of Northwest Arkansas’s economic boom, research will show that it was ignited by folks we have come to know as “the vendors.” Consumer…

by The City Wire staff - November 25, 2012 2:58 pm

A professional shell game

Let me apologize up front for writing a somewhat technical article. However I’ve been watching journalists and commentators for most of 2012 reporting on the battle over tax policy between…

by The City Wire staff - November 11, 2012 4:56 pm

Of elections and heritage

A couple of major events happened last week. The one event everybody knows about is that President Obama was re-elected. The other event that nobody cares about but me is…