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
October 15, 2012 // Updated: May 1, 2019
This year’s state budget provided no additional dollars for common education, even as total state appropriations grew by 3.2 percent. Over the past four years, state support for common education has fallen 11.4 percent while public school enrollment has grown… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 10, 2012 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Earlier this year, while Oklahoma lawmakers were adjourning their legislative session without a final agreement on Governor Fallin’s top priority of cutting the income tax, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback was celebrating his state’s adoption of major income tax changes. Governor… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 3, 2012 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Over the past several decades, income growth for most American families has been weak or non-existent. Between 1979 and 2007, incomes for the top 1 percent of households grew more than the bottom 90 percent. Incomes for the top 1… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 1, 2012 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last week, I attended CFED’s 2012 Assets Learning Conference, a biannual national gathering of practitioners, researchers, and advocates working to promote economic opportunity and fight poverty for low- and moderate-income Americans through savings, investment and ownership. Following the conference, I… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
September 24, 2012 // Updated: November 1, 2012
Oklahoma Policy Institute is seeking to hire a high quality health care policy analyst. The primary responsibilities of the job are to conduct research and analysis on state health care policy issues, and to prepare, write and disseminate issue briefs,… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
September 18, 2012 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Are Oklahoma voters being asked to do away with the Department of Human Services in a referendum this November? This was not the intent of legislators in sending State Question 765 to a popular vote, but ambiguities in the legislation… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
September 11, 2012 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This blog post was authored by Michelle Cantrell, a tax specialist residing in Tulsa
One of the six ballot measures facing voters this November is State Question 766, which asks Oklahomans whether the state should have the authority to tax… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
August 23, 2012 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This post originally ran on our blog in November 2011 and is part of an ongoing series of posts examining the Affordable Care Act. For links to previous posts and additional resources, please visit the health care reform page on… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
August 22, 2012 // Updated: May 2, 2019
As students head back to school this month, they will encounter an education system facing a crisis in funding. Over the past four years, state support for public schools has been slashed by $220 million, or 11 percent, while school… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
August 16, 2012 // Updated: May 1, 2019
This week’s announcement of General Revenue (GR) collections for the first month of the new fiscal year (FY 2013) provided mixed news for both overall collections and the performance of particular major taxes.
Overall GR in July was $382.7 million.… Read more [More...]
OKPOLICY.ORG
This year’s state budget provided no additional dollars for common education, even as total state appropriations grew by 3.2 percent. Over the past four years, state support for common education has fallen 11.4 percent while public school enrollment has grown… Read more [More...]
This post originally ran on our blog in November 2011 and is part of an ongoing series of posts examining the Affordable Care Act. For links to previous posts and additional resources, please visit the health care reform page on… Read more [More...]
