Funding not solution

Rich Huddleston’s recent op-ed calls for Arkansas to reduce child poverty. Child poverty will be solved, he says, by investing in worthy programs like early reading and foster care. However, increased funding in such programs is not the answer for Arkansas.

The people of Arkansas are already extremely generous supporters of state services, including services for children. If we add together all the taxes Arkansans pay, we have calculated the total Arkansas state tax burden. Our tax burden is 17th highest in the nation, according to the 2017 Tax Foundation survey. We give a greater percentage of our income to government than do all other Southern states, even though we rank 46th in per capita household income. Arkansas is a relatively poor state, yet it collects taxes as if it were New York or California.

Arkansas ranks 45th in overall child well-being, according to Mr. Huddleston. Decades of high tax burdens and high government spending haven’t improved citizen welfare. The new leadership of Arkansas has taken a different path: cutting personal income-tax rates. Tax relief returns decision-making to the people and takes it away from government officials. With more available income, families have greater power to improve their own welfare.

Arkansans have been enjoying a strong economy, low unemployment, and increasing incomes. A better business climate begins with tax reform, not bigger government. Arkansans continue to support those in need, with an additional $23 million in fostercare funding next year. The state can both successfully reduce income taxes while targeting child welfare. Broad, unfocused government spending has been a problem, not a solution, for Arkansas. What Arkansas needs is growth in take-home pay—not growth in government—as well as careful performance and outcome monitoring of government programs, not unfocused spending. That is how Arkansas can help children thrive in the 21st century. MARJORIE GREENBERG

Little Rock