Recent Articles

Learning from the crisis (3): Putting multi-year revenue commitments on hold

On January 1st, tax cuts with a revenue impact exceeding $100 million, which include the full repeal of the state’s estate tax and a steep increase in the standard deduction, will take effect in Oklahoma.  Do these tax cuts reflect… Read more [More...]

Stimulus reporting–more dead trees don’t help you see the forest

There’s been a lot of news about stimulus reporting the last few weeks. A lot of it has focused on jobs created or saved; that’s understandable since that was a major point of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which… Read more [More...]

Stimulus reports–some things are illuminated

In October, federal agencies, grantees, and contractors who are getting some of the stimulus (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or ARRA) money are required to submit six month reports. This post points you to places you can see reports or… Read more [More...]

College savings plan–time to get serious

We’ve recently joined with CFED, a national organization dedicated to expanding economic opportunity, and the Oklahoma Asset Building Coalition, in releasing the 2009-2010 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard. Our earlier post summarized the Oklahoma results, as did several media reports. One… Read more [More...]

Medicaid in-home support programs: getting more for less

From time to time we publish guest blog posts that help illuminate a policy issue or advance the discussion of public policy in Oklahoma (see our guest blog guidelines). This post was written by Laura Dempsey-Polan of Life Senior Services,… Read more [More...]

The new Online Budget Guide shows where we are and asks where we should be

Today we released our long-awaited Online Budget Guide, a comprehensive resource exploring how Oklahoma’s state and local government collect and spend money to provide public services. While the Guide is packed full of facts and figures and works as both… Read more [More...]

How much budget cutting is too much?–SQ 744 and this year's revenue shortfall

The House of Representatives Appropriation and Budget Committee recently held hearings on an interim study of State Question 744. State Question 744, also known as the HOPE petition, is an initiative sponsored by the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) that would… Read more [More...]

OICA Fall Forum offers an opportunity to shape policy for children

The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) hosts its annual Fall Forum in Edmond on October 13 and 14. This unique event brings together hundreds of opinion leaders and advocates to identify issues affecting children. Participants work together to help… Read more [More...]

Guest Blog: Will Oklahoma be first to discriminate against military spouses in divorces?

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 Karin Brandenburg, an Oklahoman who works in… Read more [More...]

Our Online Budget Guide is coming soon

On October 6, Oklahoma Policy Institute will release its Online Budget Guide. This unique tool for understanding Oklahoma state and local government finances will be valuable both as an introduction for newcomers and as a reference guide for the more… Read more [More...]