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
March 17, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
From time to time, we use the OK Policy blog to post submissions we receive from Oklahomans who have interesting perspectives on important policy issues for the state. This entry is from Amy Santee, Senior Program Officer with George Kaiser… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 16, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
If, as Judge Louis Brandeis famously stated, “Sunshine is the best disinfectant”, the Oklahoma Legislature seems to be on a bit of a cleaning frenzy. Several bills making their way through the legislative process this session HB 3422, SB 1633… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 11, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
With Oklahoma facing a gaping budget hole for the upcoming fiscal year of anywhere from $850 million to $1.6 billion, depending on one’s calculations, the search for new revenues to fill the gap and avoid devastating cuts to services has… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 10, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
From time to time, we use the OK Policy blog to post submissions we receive from Oklahomans who have interesting perspectives on important policy issues for the state. This entry is from Tom Daxon, an Oklahoma City CPA who served… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 9, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
The latest state revenue collections announced today provided mixed news:
State revenue collections in February exceeded the official estimate for the first time since December 2008, but fell short of prior year collections for the same month, State Treasurer Scott… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 8, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
According to the latest U.S. Census figures, 565,000 Oklahomans, or 15.8 percent of the total population, were without health insurance in 2007-2008. The uninsured rate is just under 10 percent for children but over 20 percent for adults ages 18-64.… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 4, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
As the economic downturn continues to take its toll in Oklahoma and across the nation, how financially prepared are families to deal with extended periods of unemployment and underemployment. Newly-released data (PDF) from CFED that focuses on “asset poverty” confirms… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 2, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Just when it looked as if the the extended negotiations over how to address FY ’10 budget shortfalls were finally resolved, a new wrinkle emerged this week. As a means to protest the continued failure to find supplemental funds for… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
March 1, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
We are following with keen interest legislation introduced this session by Senator Bill Brown that would allow for the issuing of health insurance coverage across state lines. SB 2046, which passed the Senate Retirement and Insurance committee and awaits consideration… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
February 26, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
House Speaker Chris Benge this week was joined by Republican Senator Patrick Anderson and Democratic Senator John Sparks in unveiling a proposal to create a new budgetary reserve fund to help cushion the state from a repeat of the extreme… Read more [More...]
OKPOLICY.ORG
The latest state revenue collections announced today provided mixed news:
State revenue collections in February exceeded the official estimate for the first time since December 2008, but fell short of prior year collections for the same month, State Treasurer Scott… Read more [More...]
Just when it looked as if the the extended negotiations over how to address FY ’10 budget shortfalls were finally resolved, a new wrinkle emerged this week. As a means to protest the continued failure to find supplemental funds for… Read more [More...]
