Recent Articles

Why shouldn’t women be allowed to talk about wages with their co-workers? (Guest Post: Liz Waggoner)

Liz Waggoner is the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Women’s Coalition, the state’s leading advocacy organization for women and girls. You might have missed it, but April 10th was Equal Pay Day in the United States.  Equal Pay Day indicates how… Read more [More...]

In a potential teacher walkout, communities must step up to fill the nutrition gap (Guest post: Brent Sadler)

Brent Sadler is Vice President of Community Investments for the Tulsa Area United Way. With the potential for a teacher walkout on the horizon, one of our greatest concerns is food insecurity for our most vulnerable citizens – our children. … Read more [More...]

New Oklahoma STABLE accounts will make it easier for Oklahomans with disabilities to save for the future (Guest Post: Amy Smith)

Amy Smith, an OK Policy Summer Policy Institute alumna, is a graduate student in Disability Studies and an intern in the LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities) program at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She lives… Read more [More...]

Capital gains deduction is an expensive loophole benefiting a small number of Oklahomans (Guest post: Cynthia Rogers, Ph.D)

Cynthia Rogers, PhD, is a professor of economics at the University of Oklahoma and a commissioner on the State of Oklahoma’s Incentive Evaluation Commission. The Capital Gains Tax Deduction allows Oklahoma taxpayers to avoid paying taxes on income from the… Read more [More...]

Lunch shaming is real – but we can end it (Guest Post: Effie Craven)

Effie Craven is the State Advocacy and Public Policy Director for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Imagine you are a child waiting in the school lunch line with your friends.  You laugh and joke as you move through the… Read more [More...]

Don’t ask Oklahomans to step down from guiding state agencies (Guest post: RoseAnn Duplan, Wanda Felty, and Erin Taylor)

RoseAnn Duplan, Wanda Felty, and Erin Taylor are advocates for families on the DDS (Developmental Disabilities Services) Waiting List. As parents of adult children with developmental disabilities, we’ve earned seven decades of experience.   We’re familiar with programs and supports other… Read more [More...]

Spending labeled ‘non-instruction’ is wrongly characterized as waste (Guest post: Senator Ron Sharp)

Senator Ron Sharp is a Republican representing Senate District 17, which includes parts of Oklahoma and Pottawatomie counties. Senator Sharp is now in his sixth year in office. He is Vice Chair of the Senate Education Committee. Governor Fallin has requested… Read more [More...]

On World AIDS Day, a call to speak up

Andy Moore is the Clinic Administrator for the Infectious Diseases Institute at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, organizer of the OKC AIDS Coalition, and member of the board of trustees for the Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund. In June… Read more [More...]

​I’m an adoptive parent. S​tate budget cuts put my family at risk.

Shelley Cadamy is a native Oklahoman. She has worked in economic development in Oklahoma since 1994 and is a foster/adoptive parent. Nine years ago, I fostered and then then adopted my three kids. They’re biological siblings, now 12, 15, and… Read more [More...]

It’s time to revisit State Question 640 (Guest Post: Rep. Marcus McEntire)

Marcus McEntire is a freshman Republican legislator representing HD 50 (Duncan). A small business owner, he attended and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in communication studies, earned a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological… Read more [More...]