Opinion

Recession call is premature

Significant attention has focused recently on the inverted yield curve. The yield curve for U.S. treasuries is said to invert when a short rate such as the three-month Treasury bill trades…

I recently attended a weeklong improv intensive class offered through TheatreSquared in Fayetteville taught by Jordan Haynes. First of all, Jordan is brilliant. He’s a gifted improviser who will absolutely…

European Union workshop coming to Arkansas presents rare opportunity for local businesses

I am a businesswoman. I sell products and services. Like most companies, I want to sell my products worldwide. But there is a problem: selling products worldwide is expensive. And…

Data Points: The case of the missing kindergarteners

For the previous 13 years, public school enrollment in Arkansas has been slowly growing. The state has generally added a 1,000 or more students each year. We have approximately 480,000…

Rural Arkansas needs protection from ‘surprise’ medical billings

For too many of us, this will sound familiar. You or a loved one face a medical emergency or need urgent treatment and seek the nearest emergency room. The medical…

Why you should vote for the Team Jonesboro Initiative

Over the last three decades, Jonesboro has rapidly grown from a small university town with a heavy agricultural economy to a regional business hub. But during this rapid era of…

Follow the money in Jonesboro’s September 10 special election

Combined sales tax rates for Jonesboro are currently 8.5%: 6.5% state, 1% county and 1% city. Team Jonesboro’ has proposed a 1% increase to double Jonesboro’s city sales tax rate,…

Farmland investments take root

As Arkansans, most of us know someone who owns some farmland. Agriculture is the largest industry in the state and for many is part of their family’s heritage, yet almost…

A power shift

A transition in Arkansas’s economy is underfoot. As residents change the way they receive goods and services, particularly in rural communities, businesses have been faced with a difficult choice: adapt…

Talk Business & Politics editorial: A disturbing insult

Often how a person or organization who makes a mistake, acknowledges the mistake and then corrects the mistake says a lot about the person or organization. That’s why this media…

The mortaring of middle America

Another day and another news story about how pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), the middlemen sitting between you, your employer and your local pharmacist, are driving up the cost of healthcare….

Shopping suggestions

If all goes as projected, U.S. families will spend upwards of $26 billion over the next several weeks preparing to send their K-12 students back to school, according to the…

Uniting Little Rock: One Opportunity Zone at a time

Throughout our campaign, I noted that one of the many roles of the next mayor of Little Rock would be acting as our “Chief Growth Officer.” A part of that…

Gerrymandering ruling likely benefits Republicans

Elections matter, including the presidential election. And, the biggest reason it matters is because the winner gets to pick the United States Supreme Court. On that note, five of those…

Tax law changes lead to decreased charitable giving

Whether you’re tinkering at the Scott Family Amazeum, taking in a Broadway show at the Walton Arts Center, or hiking a trail preserved by the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust, it…

Equipment leasing remains a viable option

Equipment finance can be traced back more than 4,000 years, when Sumerians produced leases on tablets made of clay (not Apple) for agricultural tools and animals. Today, the industry meets…

Data-driven decision making

Is state government most effectively utilizing its data to ensure cross-agency collaboration? According to the some Arkansas lawmakers, the answer may be no. On June 20, 2019, a legislative committee…

Tough talk about talent, trades, and training

About five years ago people in the business and economic development world started talking a lot more about a shortage of skilled tradespeople and the quality of America’s workforce. Since…

A hay ride to home

I was on a hay ride in the middle of a pumpkin patch in central Arkansas when my husband, Chad, called to tell me he had just accepted a job…

Do we want China to slow down or stop?

There’s an old joke about a man driving his car who rolls past a stop sign, not noticing a police car parked nearby. The officer in the squad car immediately…