The scoop
The morning Little Rock paper has a front-page piece with House Speaker Benny Petrus saying essentially one of the things that my Sunday column will predict — that we'll end up with Gov. Beebe's grocery tax halving along with two watered-down versions of Petrus' counterproposals. Those would be income tax relief for the very poorest state income taxpayers and a higher reduction in the manufacturers' utility sales tax than Beebe has recommended. For Petrus to admit this even before his and Keven Anderson's $75-per-dependent tax credit gets voted on and surely passed in the House, and apparenty suggest not even voting on that bill but coming up with a fresh bill to raise the minimum income tax level insead — well, there's straight-shooting in that, and an eschewing of any game-playing. Beebe always said that Benny wasn't hard-headed. Beebe will have to agree and find a few million to cut in his budget. Surely there's something in that 7.5 percent increased spending the governor has recommended. Higher education, due for 10 percent raises, is probably covering up.