Watch This: The Racial Wealth Gap in America

The racial wealth gap has been a hot topic lately on our blog.  The United States remains one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet escaping poverty and achieving prosperity remains out of reach for millions of Americans.  Too… Read more [More...]

Rising inequality in Oklahoma as lower- and middle-class incomes stagnate

Incomes for poor and middle-class families in Oklahoma have stagnated since the late 1990s, with nearly all of the growth in income going to the wealthiest households, according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities… Read more [More...]

7 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About Affirmative Action

One of the state questions on the general election ballot this November, SQ 759, proposes a ban on affirmative action in state employment, education, and contracting.  Ironically, supporters of the ban and SQ 759 oppose practices that are already illegal… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk – January 27th, 2012

What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk is dedicated to this week’s events, publications, and blog posts. This week OK Policy explained what federal budget cuts could mean for Oklahoma.  Doug Hall of the Economic Policy… Read more [More...]

Weather Break: Understanding the debt ceiling deal

Now that default has been averted and the agreement to raise the federal debt limit has been signed into law, attention here in Oklahoma has shifted, at least temporarily, from politics back to the weather (or, from the debt ceiling… Read more [More...]

Inequality Matters: How growing disparities erode public structures and political community

David Stockmann was director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Reagan and once a leading advocate of supply-side economics. Yet In a recent New York Times op-ed, he makes a point most frequently heard from liberals and… Read more [More...]

State seeing some job growth, but still a long ways to go

This week, OK Policy put out the latest edition of Numbers You Need, our monthly bulletin of key economic and budget indicators for the state. Our main headline was of an economic recovery stuck in neutral. While there are certain… Read more [More...]

New national data on income, poverty and the uninsured shows recession’s initial effects

Yesterday, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report on income, poverty and health insurance coverage for 2008  from its Current Population Survey. You can or click here for fact sheets and links to all the data or click here… Read more [More...]