Poll finds Arkansas races tighter than expected

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Sen. Tom Cotton, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Rep. French Hill  are definitely still the favorites to win in November. But the election just got more interesting.

A Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College poll released over the course of this week found that Cotton, a Republican, was trailing Democrat Hallie Shoffner, 47.4% to 44%. Libertarian Jeff Wadlin was running at 3%, while 5.65% of respondents were undecided. 

The poll also found that in the governor’s race, Sanders was leading Democrat state Sen. Fred Love, 45% to 40%, while Libertarian Colt Shelby trailed with 7%. Another 8% were undecided. 

The poll of 1,217 likely voters was conducted Aug. 11-12 via text message and had a plus-minus margin of error of 4.7%. That’s a 9.4% swing, which means Cotton could be leading his race while Love could be ahead of Sanders. 

In a separate survey of 1,112 likely voters in the 2nd District, Rep. Hill was trailing Democrat Chris Jones, 44% to 48%.

The impossible-to-ignore finding was that more respondents disapproved of President Trump than approved, 53%-46%. Perhaps even more significant was the fact that almost half the respondents (48.3%) strongly disapproved. Less than 5% only somewhat disapproved. In contrast, one-third (32.2%) strongly approved.  Continue reading →

Flock Safety cancellations a drop in the bucket

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At least six Arkansas communities have stopped using Flock Safety public surveillance and license plate reader cameras since July 24. 

But will a backlash ever occur regarding modern life’s other, much bigger privacy encroachments?

Flock Safety operates a nationwide network of cameras that record passing car images and license plate numbers. Law enforcement agencies in 49 states can search the company’s data. The company says that in the month of July it detected more than 1,000 missing people and more than 20,000 stolen cars. 

But some communities have stopped using the technology over privacy concerns. The Washington Post identified nearly 50 examples of police officers being charged or accused of using the technology inappropriately, including for tracking romantic partners or family members.  Continue reading →

Where will mothers deliver babies?

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If a woman gives birth in an Arkansas hospital, there’s a good chance it isn’t in her home county.

Only 22 of Arkansas’ 75 counties now have hospitals that deliver babies, according to the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI). Thirty hospitals overall still do, including counties with more than one. Ten hospitals have closed their obstetrics units since 2019. The latest is National Park Medical Center in Hot Springs following the unexpected death of its only obstetrician-gynecologist. Another local hospital, CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs, will continue delivering babies.

Five of the 10 closed their units because of staffing shortages, while five did so for financial reasons, ACHI says. Labor and delivery units are expensive to operate and must be open 24-7, even in rural areas with low patient volumes.

The closures are part of a nationwide trend. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform recently reported that since the end of 2020, 146 rural hospitals have closed their units or announced plans to do so by the end of 2026.  Continue reading →

National debt reaches $40 trillion

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tax, taxes, debt, deficits, spending, trillion, State of the Union, deficit hawks, balanced budget amendment, Jonathan Bydlak, immigration, $98.8 trillion, $970 billion, Social Security cut, $40 trillion national debtForty trillion dollars. That’s how big the national debt has become as of Wednesday, August 19.

The debt reached that $40 trillion milestone less than five months after hitting $39 trillion. At this rate, it will hit $50 trillion in six years, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. 

The numbers are so big that it’s hard to wrap one’s head around them, so here’s some perspective: Forty trillion dollars is equal to roughly $116,700 for every American man, woman and child. It took almost 200 years for the national debt to reach $1 trillion in 1981; it’s grown $39 trillion in the ensuing 45 years. 

Much of that growth has come since the turn of the century. In fact, the debt has doubled in less than 10 years. 

Last year, the federal government spent $1.78 trillion more than it collected. Government deficit spending now comprises 5.8% of the U.S. economy. Can you imagine where the economy would be if we weren’t “borrowing” from our grandchildren? Continue reading →

We’re not going to balance the budget

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tax, taxes, debt, deficits, spending, trillion, State of the Union, deficit hawks, balanced budget amendment, Jonathan Bydlak, immigration, $98.8 trillion, $970 billion, Social Security cutLet’s be honest: The federal government probably will never balance its budget again, so eventually there will be a debt crisis. Times will be harder, and Uncle Sam will not be able to bail us out.

More evidence backing this bleak outlook came July 21, when the 10-year Treasury yield reached 4.6%. By July 29, it was 4.641%.

The 10-year Treasury note is one of the ways the federal government finances its borrowing. Investors in the United States and in foreign countries purchase the bonds and then receive interest on their investment. 

Who pays for that interest? Today’s taxpayers – and tomorrow’s. The higher the yields, the more taxpayers pay. While today’s amounts are not particularly high by historical standards, they’re 60% higher than the 2.8% percent average over the last decade. Continue reading →