Why total spending has gone up as budgets are cut

OK Policy has spent a lot of time focusing on the real and continuing damage caused by repeated state budget cuts over the past three years, as well as the fact that state tax collections are at historic lows. Meanwhile,… Read more [More...]

Who's behind the assault on income tax?

Earlier this month, rival events on the income tax debate presented an illuminating contrast. OK Policy’s forum featured economists from Oklahoma public and private universities, as well as economic development experts from the state Department of Commerce and the OKC,… Read more [More...]

Guest Blog (Steve Ellis): Evidence and Ideology: Beyond ECON 101

Stephen Ellis, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Oklahoma. His research areas include philosophy of economics, decision theory, philosophy of mind and ethics. The debate about the degree to which economics supports drastic… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma economists give Laffer a failing grade

The push to eliminate Oklahoma’s personal income tax relies heavily for intellectual support on a study done for the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs by economist Arthur Laffer and his colleagues at Aduin, Laffer & Moore econometrics. Last month we… Read more [More...]

There's something happening here: The new Oklahoma political media landscape

Two years ago this month, the Oklahoman and Tulsa World announced a content-sharing agreement in which each paper would carry some stories created by the other. The papers also said they would “focus on reducing some areas of duplication, such… Read more [More...]

We’re in this together: Private sector suffers, too, from public sector decay

Last month I gave a presentation to a meeting of the State Chamber of Commerce along with a representative from another state policy organization.  I was struck, and frankly dismayed, by the extent to which my co-presenter  spoke as if… Read more [More...]