Former Executive Director David Blatt joined OK Policy in 2008 and served as its Executive Director from 2010 to 2019. He previously served as Director of Public Policy for Community Action Project of Tulsa County and as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma State Senate. He has a Ph.D. in political science from Cornell University and a B.A. from the University of Alberta. David has been selected as Political Scientist of the Year by the Oklahoma Political Science Association, Local Social Justice Champion by the Dan Allen Center for Social Justice, and Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers.
By: David Blatt
August 12, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Beginning in 2014, the American health care landscape will be transformed in many ways as the final provisions of the Affordable Care Act take effect. The greatest changes will affect the market for individual health insurance. Under the ACA, insurance… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
July 29, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
An earlier version of this post appeared as a column in the Journal Record
$2,060 a month? Or $4,239? Two recent attempts to calculate how much income it takes to make ends meet reached starkly different conclusions. But both, in… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
July 17, 2013 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Last week, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) announced monthly General Revenue (GR) collections for June, bringing Fiscal Year 2013 to a close. While Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger’s candid assessment of plunging gross production revenues grabbed the headlines,… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
July 3, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
On Wednesday, August 7th, Dr. Theda Skocpol, the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University, will present a public lecture, “Naming the Problem: Extremism and the Fight Against Climate Change” at the University of Tulsa’s Alan… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
July 1, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Following May’s devastating tornadoes in Moore, the new Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Ed Lake, suggested the state use $10 million in unspent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds as emergency relief to tornado victims, as… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 24, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Currently, some 55 million Americans are without health insurance. That includes about 650,000 Oklahomans, or one in six state residents.. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was designed to reduce the number of uninsured by expanding access to quality, affordable coverage.… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 5, 2013 // Updated: June 5, 2013
By more than a two-to-one margin, Oklahoma voters oppose the state’s tax breaks to oil and gas companies for horizontal drilling, according to a recent poll of registered voters.
The poll, conducted in late April by Global Strategies Group, provided… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
May 22, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last week’s announcement of April General Revenue (GR) collections seemed to signal great news for the state. Revenues were up almost $90 million, or 14.7 percent, from the same month a year ago and exceeded the estimate by 15.1 percent.… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
May 20, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
With just one week left until the legislature’s scheduled adjournment, Governor Mary Fallin has called on legislators to approve last-minute changes to the Insure Oklahoma program. These questions and answers explain what is being proposed and the vital issues that… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
May 15, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last week saw important developments in the debate over expanding health coverage for uninsured low-income Oklahomans. While it now seems certain that Oklahoma will not expand coverage at the start of 2014, the state finally appears to be moving along… Read more [More...]
OKPOLICY.ORG
Beginning in 2014, the American health care landscape will be transformed in many ways as the final provisions of the Affordable Care Act take effect. The greatest changes will affect the market for individual health insurance. Under the ACA, insurance… Read more [More...]
An earlier version of this post appeared as a column in the Journal Record
$2,060 a month? Or $4,239? Two recent attempts to calculate how much income it takes to make ends meet reached starkly different conclusions. But both, in… Read more [More...]
Last week, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) announced monthly General Revenue (GR) collections for June, bringing Fiscal Year 2013 to a close. While Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger’s candid assessment of plunging gross production revenues grabbed the headlines,… Read more [More...]
On Wednesday, August 7th, Dr. Theda Skocpol, the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University, will present a public lecture, “Naming the Problem: Extremism and the Fight Against Climate Change” at the University of Tulsa’s Alan… Read more [More...]
Following May’s devastating tornadoes in Moore, the new Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Ed Lake, suggested the state use $10 million in unspent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds as emergency relief to tornado victims, as… Read more [More...]
Currently, some 55 million Americans are without health insurance. That includes about 650,000 Oklahomans, or one in six state residents.. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was designed to reduce the number of uninsured by expanding access to quality, affordable coverage.… Read more [More...]
By more than a two-to-one margin, Oklahoma voters oppose the state’s tax breaks to oil and gas companies for horizontal drilling, according to a recent poll of registered voters.
The poll, conducted in late April by Global Strategies Group, provided… Read more [More...]
Last week’s announcement of April General Revenue (GR) collections seemed to signal great news for the state. Revenues were up almost $90 million, or 14.7 percent, from the same month a year ago and exceeded the estimate by 15.1 percent.… Read more [More...]
With just one week left until the legislature’s scheduled adjournment, Governor Mary Fallin has called on legislators to approve last-minute changes to the Insure Oklahoma program. These questions and answers explain what is being proposed and the vital issues that… Read more [More...]
