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
April 14, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This is one of our most widely read and popular blog posts. It was written by Paul Shinn and initially ran on our blog on April 15, 2009.
April 15. I’m not a fan of tax day. Who is? After… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
April 13, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Today’s announcement of the monthly General Revenue collections brought incontestable good news:
State revenue collections in March topped prior year collections for the first time since December 2008 and the official estimate for a second consecutive month, State Treasurer Scott… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
April 12, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
For many of us, the economic events of the past two years have eroded our savings and heightened our sense of economic fragility. Yet for many low- and moderate-income households, savings have long been out of reach. The 2009-10 Assets… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
April 9, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This week I had the pleasure of attending a gathering of policy analysts and advocates from 15 states on “Transforming Health Care Coverage for Children and Families,” convened by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. The conference, which focused… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
April 7, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
As Oklahoma faces record budget shortfalls, the threat of massive cuts that would slow the state’s economic recovery and, in the Governor’s words, “have irreparable and damaging effects on our state services infrastructure,” looms large. This post is the fourth … Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
April 5, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
As Oklahoma faces record budget shortfalls, the threat of massive cuts that would slow the state’s economic recovery and, in the Governor’s words, “have irreparable and damaging effects on our state services infrastructure,” looms large. This post is the third… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
April 1, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last night my family was discussing the tough times facing public schools in Tulsa and elsewhere. My son, Noah, who’s in the 4th grade, offered one of his favorite jokes (from Jokes for Children, Marguerite Kohl and Frederica Young, 1963):… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 31, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
As Oklahoma faces record budget shortfalls, the threat of massive cuts that would slow the state’s economic recovery and have potentially devastating effects on schools, social services, and public safety loom large. In this context, there is an urgent need… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 30, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
With state revenue collections seeing their steepest plunge in a generation, Oklahoma is enduring a tough year of state budget cuts that are already having a harmful effect on families, communities and the economy. However, while the severity of this… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 29, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
The Oklahoman’s Michael McNutt covered the remarks I made last week at a panel on the state budget crisis at the University of Central Oklahoma’s Southwest Business Symposium. My conclusions were rather stark:
“We’ve been able to avoid the apocalypse… Read more [More...]