Good News: Arkansas Fails to Make List of Most Corrupt States

Current Events

Finally, a bad list that Arkansas isn’t on.

The list of most corrupt states just came out, and we’re not even in the top 10!

A study by researchers Cheol Liu from the City University of Hong Kong and Indiana University’s John L. Mikesell found corruption in Mississippi was tops among the states from 1976 through 2008. Louisiana, Tennessee, Illinois, and Pennsylvania round out the top 5 most corrupt states.

According to the study, the 10 most-corrupt states could have reduced per capita spending by an average of $1,308 if they had average corruption levels. In more corrupt states, large corporations enhance their bottom by lobbying lawmakers for tax breaks and other government assistance rather than focusing on better business practices.

In 2013 the Arkansas Legislature appropriated several million tax dollars to help build a steel mill in Northeast Arkansas.

You can read the study here.

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Single-Payer Healthcare v. Hobby Lobby Ruling

Religious Freedom,

Earlier this week we wrote about the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark “Hobby Lobby” ruling on religious liberty–both the ruling itself and some common myths about the ruling. One more myth worth addressing has come up a few times since then: The myth that a single-payer healthcare system somehow would have averted the Hobby Lobby ruling.

The logic seems to be that under a single-payer system the government would pay for every person’s healthcare; as part of that system, the government would pay for all forms of contraception–including abortion-inducing drugs, sterilizations, and other practices many find unconscionable. Theoretically, under such a system Hobby Lobby never would have sued, because Hobby Lobby would not have been paying for anyone’s health insurance–the government would have paid for it.

The problematic question is this: Under a single-payer system, who ultimately pays for everyone’s healthcare? Answer: Taxpayers.

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