Two Rivers Park Bridge a nice walk over Little Maumelle River

If you are looking for a way to kill a little time and get some exercise, you can do worse than the Two Rivers Park Bridge.

The 1,750-foot bridge spanning the Little Maumelle River just west of I-430 was temporarily opened to pedestrians and cyclists Friday during a ceremony featuring U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. At least 250 people showed up for the event.

It’s not as majestic, or as high, as the the Big Dam Bridge, but it’s a nice walk. Here’s video from the top.

Traversing the trail affords walkers and cyclists access to the strikingly beautiful and shaded trails of Two Rivers Park. If they are up for a long ride or walk, they can go all the way to Pinnacle Mountain State Park.

The bridge, which opens to the public July 23, will be one of four bridges in the Arkansas River Trail system that will enable pedestrians and cyclists to safely travel from the Clinton Library to Pinnacle Mountain and enjoy a lot of beautiful scenery along the way. County Judge Buddy Villines deserves a huge amount of credit for making it happen.

Best way to get there: turn north off of Cantrell.

We’re never gonna balance the budget

A new poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press makes clear what politicians already know: Americans, including Republicans, don’t favor reductions in benefits for recipients of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Respondents were asked which is more important, “Taking steps to reduce the budget deficit” or “Keeping Social Security and Medicare benefits as they are.” Sixty percent favor the status quo, compared to 32 percent who favor reducing the deficit.

The problem with not touching Medicare and Social Security is, that’s where the money is. The government can cut everything else but entitlement spending and still not be fiscally viable in the long-term. Americans don’t want to raise taxes, either, so something has to give.

Unfortunately, it’s going to be our children and grandchildren doing the giving.

Here’s the poll results.

Are independents really independents?

Are independents really independents? No, says a website run by Larry Sabato, one of the country’s most interesting political scientists.

An article on his website, “Sabato’s Crystal Ball,” by senior columnist Alan Abramowitz makes the case that independents are not that important a constituency, in large part because they aren’t really independents. Abramowitz says most lean to one party or another and vote about as reliably as party identifiers.

If it’s true, it’s not good for America because it encourages the parties to practice base politics rather than inclusive politics. The more the country hardens into two camps with nobody in the middle and few undecideds, the less likely politicians are to work together to produce commonsense compromises. We are seeing that now with the debt ceiling debate.

Here is the column by Abramowitz.

CNBC ranks Arkansas 33rd overall in business survey

Arkansas ranks first in the cost of doing business in a new CNBC survey but 33rd overall, one worse than last year.

The state ranked first in the cost of doing business and fourth in cost of living but fared poorly in the usual suspects: 45th in quality of life (I beg to differ); 44th in technology and innovation (sounds about right); 44th in business friendliness, meaning its legal and regulatory environment (GOP, this is your chance to help the state); and 40th in infrastructure and transportation (not going to fix that one this year).

Virginia was ranked first while Texas was second, so get ready to hear from the Legislature’s Rick Perry caucus.

Here’s the link to the story.

Yarnell’s – It’s my Mom’s fault

Within hours after Yarnell’s announced it was closing shop, the Republican Party of Arkansas was ready with a press release blaming the Democrats.

This, of course, is what politicos do – play the blame game, and the Democrats are no different.

But really, it’s not Beebe’s fault, or the Republicans’ fault, that this Arkansas institution is shutting down. It’s my Mom’s fault.

Mom told me last weekend that she didn’t buy Yarnell’s for a simple reason: She didn’t like its fat-free flavors. She likes Blue Bell – you know, that Texas company.

Mom is one of millions of consumers simply making choices in a free market economy. It turns out that a lot of them – in fact, too many of them for Yarnell’s to survive – chose of their own free will to purchase another brand.

Certainly government can enact policies that make it easier for regional independents like Yarnell’s to survive – mostly by NOT enacting policies that favor big corporations. But this never-ending blame game really doesn’t solve anything.

To read more about Yarnell’s – and my mom – check out my Arkansas News Bureau column here.