Do we really want the president to turn off the news?

By Steve Brawner,© 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Here’s the thing about polls: They never tell you everything, but they often tell you something.

Such is the case with a recent Ipsos poll where 85 percent agreed that “Freedom of the press is essential for American democracy.” At the same time, 29 percent, and 48 percent of Republicans, also agreed that “the news media is the enemy of the American people.”

In other findings, 26 percent of Americans, and 43 percent of Republicans, agreed that “the president should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in bad behavior.” Thirteen percent of respondents, including 23 percent of Republicans, agreed that “President Trump should close down mainstream news outlets, like CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times.” Another 3 percent of Americans didn’t know.

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What Gov. Hutchinson and Jared Henderson have in common

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson and his Democratic opponent, Jared Henderson, have at least two things in common: They both started their political careers at young ages as heavy underdogs in statewide races, and they both have offered a big idea regarding education.

Hutchinson’s political career began in 1986 when, at age 35, he challenged the late two-term U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers, 61. Bumpers was a Democrat like almost all elected officials in Arkansas. Running as a Republican gave Hutchinson little chance to win a statewide race of any kind. But that was the party where he felt he belonged. He lost, 62-38 percent.

Four years later, Hutchinson ran another statewide race – this one against Democrat Winston Bryant for attorney general. Bryant had been lieutenant governor for a decade, mostly under then-Gov. Bill Clinton. Hutchinson lost, 55-45 percent

Hutchinson did not have a realistic chance of beating Bumpers. Beating Bryant would have been an upset.

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What does Ohio’s 12th tell us about Arkansas’ 2nd?

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

To get an idea of what will transpire in Arkansas this election season, consider what just happened in Ohio.

There, the state’s wealthiest congressional district held a special election Tuesday to fill a vacant seat. Ohio’s 12th had elected Republicans to Congress since the 1980s, and President Trump won it by 11 points.

The election pitted Republican Troy Balderson against Democrat Danny O’Connor, and polls showed it was tight. If the Democrat won, it would be seen as a big sign that the November elections might go that party’s way nationwide. This year is a midterm election, which typically favors the fired up party not in the White House – and Democrats are very fired up. Millions of dollars poured into the race from both sides. President Trump held a big rally there Saturday.  Continue reading →

For now, Arkansas bends the cost curve

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

When policymakers discuss health care, they often talk about “bending the cost curve” rather than “cutting costs.” That’s because costs have increased so much, for so long, and seemingly so inevitably, that anything beyond “bending” sounds unrealistic.

In recent days, Arkansas has made two announcements indicating it actually is bending the cost curve, at least temporarily. In fact, in one way it even cut costs.

On Aug. 3, the Arkansas Insurance Department announced next year’s rate increase requests made by insurers on the insurance exchange. That’s the online marketplace for individuals and small businesses created by the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. It’s where I buy my family’s insurance. Continue reading →

How your newspaper subscription is an investment

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Bell, California, has a population of 37,000 and, until 2010, a town manager making almost $800,000 a year. The police chief, meanwhile, was making $457,000. That’s 50 percent more than the salary made by the police chief of nearby Los Angeles, population 4 million.

What stopped this from continuing? An investigation by the Los Angeles Times. Before that, Bell, a suburb of L.A., had lost its local newspaper in the late 1990s. When the town manager had started working there in 1993, he was making $72,000.

Bell offers one possible example of what three professors say is a larger reality: When newspapers close, the county’s taxpayers suffer. Their study found that local government borrowing costs rose, the number of government employees increased by four people per 1,000 residents, government wages increased by a median of $1.4 million, and tax revenues increased by $85 per person. Continue reading →