Category: Media

Production tax debate intensifies in Oklahoma’s oil patch (The Oklahoman)

By Adam Wilmoth, The Oklahoman Oklahoma Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger sparked controversy throughout the state oil patch earlier this summer when he suggested legislators consider changing a tax break for horizontal drilling. “My only position in bringing this to everyone’s… Read more [More...]

Time is right for Oklahoma policymakers to discuss merits of drilling tax credit (The Oklahoman)

By The Oklahoman Editorial Board When a Democratic legislator accused Republicans of wanting to sell surplus water to Texas to offset the cost of income tax cuts, he was clearly out of his intellectual depth. Treatment of another liquid found… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s Think Tanks (The Slice)

By John Parker, The Slice In the battle for Oklahoma’s political hearts and minds, David Blatt and Michael Carnuccio helm the rival political think tanks commonly portrayed as liberal versus conservative juggernauts … they both really hate that. Carnuccio, who… Read more [More...]

Drilling tax breaks questioned amid tight state revenue collections (Tulsa World)

By Jerry Wofford, Tulsa World A high-ranking state official says tax breaks for oil and gas drilling held back more robust growth of the state’s general revenue fund in the last fiscal year, adding that legislators should examine the effect… Read more [More...]

Tiptoeing into Expansion: Health care study viewed with optimism, frustration (Urban Tulsa Weekly)

By Jaime Adame, Urban Tulsa Weekly Many have called it a step in the right direction. But the much-anticipated Leavitt Partners report still leaves plenty of unanswered questions. “If this was an attempt to make things more simple for people… Read more [More...]

Today’s Twitter fight an example of contentious health care debate (NewsOK)

By Jaclyn Cosgrove, NewsOK I was waiting on the state Board of Health meeting to start today when I got a tweet about a news story from News Channel 4. The story was about the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, which… Read more [More...]

Argument made for added Medicaid (Muskogee Phoenix)

By D.E. Smoot, Muskogee Phoenix Analysts with the Oklahoma Policy Institute contend the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act would benefit Oklahoma businesses and uninsured workers. An analysis of the 2011 American Community Survey shows there are 143,150… Read more [More...]

Bigotry not to blame for Oklahoma’s shortcomings (The Oklahoman)

This editorial was prompted by OK Policy’s report “Closing the Opportunity Gap: Building Equity in Oklahoma.” OK Policy analyst Kate Richey penned an editorial in response, which The Oklahoman declined to publish.  By The Oklahoman Editorial Board  Oklahoma’s history undeniably… Read more [More...]

Wide range seen in legislative session grading (NewsOK)

The Oklahoman Editorial Grading school districts and individual schools is a controversial state policy that occupied some of the time of legislators in the 2013 session. As for grading how wisely legislators spent their time this session, report cards are… Read more [More...]

Making it stick: Oklahoma’s divorce rate remains high (Tulsa World)

By Julie Delcour, Tulsa World In 1999, during a garden gala outside the governor’s mansion, Gov. Frank Keating unveiled plans for an ambitious project, the No. 1 family issue of his second term.  Keating’s goal was to cut the state… Read more [More...]