Paul Shinn served as Budget and Tax Senior Policy Analyst with OK Policy from May 2019 until December 2021. Before joining OK Policy, Shinn held budget and finance positions for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the Department of Human Services, the cities of Oklahoma City and Del City and several local governments in his native Oregon. He also taught political science and public administration at the University of Oklahoma, University of Central Oklahoma, and California State University Stanislaus. While with the Government Finance Officers Association, Paul worked on consulting and research projects for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and several state agencies and local governments. He also served as policy analyst for CAP Tulsa. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from University of Oklahoma and degrees from the University of Oregon and the University of Maryland College Park. He lives in Oklahoma City with his wife Carmelita.
By: Paul Shinn
August 6, 2009 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Like most people who watch public budgets, we tend to focus on what is being spent, at the expense of what is being bought. Our upcoming Online Guide to Oklahoma Budget and Taxes looks at state and local expenditures more… Read more [More...]
By: Paul Shinn
August 4, 2009 // Updated: May 1, 2019
It will be worth your time to check out Better, Faster, Cheaper, a blog produced by former Indianapolis Mayor Steve Goldsmith for the Kennedy School of Government. Among its gems is an excellent article by William Eggers, The Pension Time… Read more [More...]
By: Paul Shinn
July 30, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
As the debate about the speed and impact of stimulus spending rages on, Good Jobs First is taking on the less glamorous but equally important task of assessing accountability in state spending of funds from the stimulus bill (more formally,… Read more [More...]
By: Paul Shinn
July 27, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In the last days of this year’s legislative session, House Bill 2250 passed with little fanfare. HB 2250 puts a tax on wire transfers–$5 plus one percent on the amount over $500, with proceeds going to the Bureau of Narcotics… Read more [More...]
By: Paul Shinn
July 21, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last week, State Treasurer Scott Meacham unveiled the the state revenue report for June, 2009. Revenue was below the previous year, for both the last month and the fiscal year as a whole, as we reported earlier.
It’s natural to… Read more [More...]
By: Paul Shinn
July 10, 2009 // Updated: October 17, 2012
Have you visited TED.com? TED gathers smart people for topical conferences and then offers us the speeches in video form, organized both by topic and by user classification–persuasive, beautiful, funny, etc. You’ll find people you’ve heard of, like Al Gore… Read more [More...]
By: Paul Shinn
July 9, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The Oklahoma State Board of Education recently adopted higher testing standards for elementary and middle school students. According to the Tulsa World, the higher standards result from recommendations of a committee of educators and business representatives. This effort responded to… Read more [More...]
By: Paul Shinn
July 6, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
We’re getting closer to launching the OK Policy Online Guide to Oklahoma Budget and Taxes, a comprehensive resource for understanding state and local government finance in Oklahoma. Most of the guide is factual in nature–how we collect tax dollars, how… Read more [More...]
By: Paul Shinn
June 30, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the first Conference on Children and Youth Savings sponsored by CFED, a national organization dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for all Americans. According to CFED,
People who own assets–such as a savings… Read more [More...]
By: Paul Shinn
June 29, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
OK Policy is pleased to launch a new monthly Stimulus Update publication. Each month we will take a quick look at one set of federal stimulus (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA) programs. Each issue includes a short review… Read more [More...]