The Weekly Wonk November 30, 2014

The Weekly Wonk is a summary of Oklahoma Policy Institute’s events, publications, blog posts, and coverage. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know. Because In The Know has taken short breaks over the last two weeks for a conference and Thanksgiving, this edition of The Weekly Wonk includes material from both weeks.

OK Policy released our updated CountySTATS 2014, with county-by-county data on a wide variety of indicators. The Oklahoman’s Editorial Board discussed some of the more interesting numbers they uncovered in CountySTATS 2014. In his Capitol Updates, Steve Lewis discussed why agency directors shouldn’t expect new funding this year, despite growing need, and argued that if Oklahoma wants to increase education funding, it will need to do more than simply rearrange the funds it already has.

A new blog post explained how state leadership’s efforts to block the Affordable Care Act means the state is missing out on the flexibility the federal government is offering states in expanding health coverage. We examined the implications of a ruling from the state Attorney General finding that the legislature acted unconstitutionally appropriated from the Trauma Care Assistance Fund in an effort to balance the state budget. We’ve written about the legislature’s habit of inappropriate appropriations before, and the shortfalls they create.

In his Journal Record column, Executive Director David Blatt discussed a recent presentation given by Dr. Larry Jacobs on the future of the Affordable Care Act and concluded that while the road to full implementation might be bumpy, it’s not a dead end. The Oklahoman’s Editorial Board came to a somewhat different conclusion. Policy Director Gene Perry spoke to The Oklahoman about the possibilities for criminal justice reform in 2015, and The Oklahoman’s Editorial Board praised OK Policy’s support for a renewed effort from the Governor’s office in implementing the Justice Reinvestment Initiative. In our Editorial of the Week, Blatt made recommendations for Gov. Fallin’s second term in office.

Quote of the week:

“Until our state leaders take that same emphasis on thinking more about tomorrow than today, our state and its people will never reach its full potential.”

– University of Central Oklahoma College of Business Dean Mickey Hepner, speaking at an Oklahoma City Chamber luncheon. Hepner said Oklahoma’s growth is threatened by lawmakers who put shortsighted gains ahead of investing in infrastructure and education (Source: http://bit.ly/1Cam7cw).

See previous Quotes of the Day here.

Numbers of the Day:

• 24% – Percent of LGBT students in Oklahoma who reported being physically assaulted in the last year due to their sexual orientation, the 3rd highest percentage in the US.
• $4.070 billion – Total value of all goods traded between Oklahoma City and Tulsa in 2010. Both cities were each other’s second largest trading partner among major cities, with Dallas, TX as the largest trading partner.
• $151,080 – Median annual wage of a petroleum engineer in Oklahoma in 2013.
• 9% – Percentage of calls to Oklahoma’s child abuse and neglect hotline in 2013 that were reporting abuse and/or neglect of an adult.
• 218 – Number of commercial banks in Oklahoma. This number has fallen steadily since 1985, when the state had 538 commercial banks.

See previous Numbers of the Day and sources here.

What we’re reading:

• The New York Times praised schools implementing free classroom breakfasts.
• Vox explained what’s in President Obama’s new immigration plan.
• The Washington Post examined an Affordable Care Act program that is helping reduce health care costs by incentivizing doctors to make house calls.
• This American Life shares stories of schools struggling with how to handle misbehaving kids and examines evidence that some of the most popular punishments may actually harm kids.
• A woman writes in The Huffington Post that legal challenges by Oklahoma and others seeking to eliminate subsidies for purchasing insurance on healthcare.gov are a threat to her parents’ lives.