Recent Articles

In the Know is on a break

Our In The Know worker bees have all buzzed off to conferences this week. We’ll be back next Monday.… Read more [More...]

STATEMENT: Governor’s decision not to join Medicaid expansion is deeply troubling

Governor Fallin’s decision not to expand the Medicaid program to cover uninsured low-income adults is deeply troubling and unfortunate, putting politics over the interests of Oklahomans. Read more... [More...]

Barry Friedman: Election memories–live and on tape

Barry Friedman writes the column, “Barry Friedman At Large” for Tulsa People Magazine, is a  stand-up comedian, and the author of two books, “Road Comic” and “Funny You Should Mention It”.  If  he doesn’t overdose on fruit slices and diet… Read more [More...]

Online Sales Tax: While Rome burns and Congress fiddles, states can act

The problem of untaxed Internet sales is gaining new prominence.  As we wait on Congress for a permanent fix, there are actions that Oklahoma can take immediately to create a more level-playing field for our local brick-and-mortar businesses. The Oklahoma… Read more [More...]

Unnecessary and Unaffordable: The case for curbing Oklahoma’s oil and gas tax breaks

Oklahoma should eliminate tax breaks for the oil and gas industry that are no longer needed and are threatening the state’s fiscal stability by squeezing out resources for schools, roads, public safety, and other keys to long-term economic growth, according… Read more [More...]

Graph of the Day: Common education receiving dwindling share of state budget

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...]

The matter with Kansas

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...]

What We're Reading: Harold Meyerson on 'What happens if labor dies?'

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...]

Interview with Bob Friedman: Our asset policies 'reward the rich, miss the middle, penalize the poor'

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...]

We’re hiring!

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...]