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
June 25, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
For those of you who missed it earlier, the Grindstone Journal has reprinted my article on expanding coverage to the uninsured in Oklahoma that ran originally as an op-ed contribution to The Oklahoman.
The Grindstone Journal is a recently-created, Oklahoma-based… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 23, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
While the arrival of summer has many of us slowing down to a more leisurely pace, in Washington, the debate on health care reform is quickly shifting into overdrive. Several Congressional committees have taken up consideration of health care legislation,… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 22, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Recently I had the pleasure of being invited by the Oklahoma Food Security Committee to give a presentation on funding for food and nutrition programs in the stimulus bill. The meeting featured a superb overview from Liz Tate of the… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 18, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Sunday’s issue of The Oklahoman featured a compelling report by Paula Burkes on the struggles of several Oklahomans who have unexpectedly found themselves among the ranks of the unemployed, losing long-time jobs and struggling to regain their footing in an… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 17, 2009 // Updated: May 1, 2019
The Tulsa World ran our op-ed laying out the budget challenges that state agencies are now beginning to confront as the new fiscal year approaches:
We won’t know until next June the full impact on public services or our health… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 16, 2009 // Updated: May 1, 2019
There has been some discussion in recent days about the performance of the Oklahoma State Lottery, including this editorial from The Oklahoman, after the Lottery Commission adopted a budget for FY ’10 that projects $66.6 million in revenues for education… Read more [More...]
From time to time, we will use the OK Policy blog to post submissions we receive from Oklahomans who have interesting perspectives on important policy issues for the state. This submission is from Clay Pope, Executive Director of the Oklahoma… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 15, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
We’re out with our latest Numbers You Need bulletin for June, tracking economic and fiscal trends in Oklahoma and the nation. While the bulletin focuses on monthly and quarterly data on jobs, inflation, work support programs, and the like, each… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 10, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Back in March, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released 2008 data on state personal income, which is the most widely used measure of a state’s relative prosperity. We took note of it at the time in our April Numbers You… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
June 8, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In recent years, whenever I’ve participated in forums on poverty and barriers to self-sufficiency, the single barrier raised most often and most fervently by those who work with low-income individuals and by low-income individuals themselves is the “cliff effect”. A… Read more [More...]