Category: Media

Tulsa-based think tank forecasts state financial woes (Urban Tulsa Weekly)

Original at http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A34476 BY MIKE EASTERLING, Urban Tulsa Weekly  David Blatt, the director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, isn’t trying to convince anyone that the economic analyses his nonprofit, Tulsa-based think tank produces are always going to be spot on.… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Policy Institute state fiscal study projects ‘bleak extended period’ (Tulsa World)

Original at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20101207_16_A12_OKLAHO370531&archive=yes By BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau  OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma lawmakers will have $400 million less to spend in the coming fiscal year than they did in the current fiscal year, the director of the Oklahoma Policy… Read more [More...]

Report: Oklahoma economy may not recover until 2014 (Associated Press)

Original at http://newsok.com/report-okla.-economy-may-not-recover-until-2014/article/3521488 By SEAN MURPHY Oklahoma’s economy, battered from the fallout of a national recession and low oil and natural gas prices, likely will not fully recover until at least 2014, according to a report released Tuesday by a… Read more [More...]

OK Policy Memo: Expect Budget Shortfalls to Continue; Balanced Approach to Bridging the Budget Gap is Urged

Whoever wins the elections in November will face difficult choices in filling large budget holes and balancing the budget in the years ahead, according to a memo to candidates and elected officials released today by Oklahoma Policy Institute, an independent… Read more [More...]

Think tank’s rejection a major blow for SQ 744 (Oklahoman)

Original at http://newsok.com/article/3479304 The addition of the Oklahoma Policy Institute to the ranks of those opposed to the most important state question on the November ballot is the strongest sign yet of just how ill-conceived the proposal is. State Question… Read more [More...]

Policy group: SQ 744 to cost $1.7 billion over 3 years (Tulsa World)

Original at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20100721_16_A7_OKLAHO783410 By BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau OKLAHOMA CITY — A ballot measure that would require per-pupil spending to be increased to that of neighboring states would cost $1.7 billion over three years, according to the Oklahoma Policy… Read more [More...]

New OK Policy Issue Brief Finds State Question 744 to be “The Wrong Solution” for Oklahoma

Contact: David Blatt, Director Office: (918) 794-3944; Cell: (918) 859-8747  (Tulsa, July 20, 2010):  State Question 744, the proposed constitutional amendment that would peg the annual education budget in Oklahoma to funding levels in six neighboring states, is the wrong… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Policy Institute Report Shines Light on Need for Greater Scrutiny of State Tax Breaks

Contact: David Blatt, Director (918) 794-3944; (918) 859-8747 – cell (Tulsa, February 17, 2010):  Oklahoma’s budget crisis creates new needs and new opportunities to review the state’s extensive system of tax breaks, according to a research brief released today by… Read more [More...]

Exploring ways to build assets among low-income (Oklahoman)

Oklahoman Editorial The word “assets” and the term “lower-income citizens” rarely appear in the same sentence. The working poor often have no assets, so the lack of a linkage is axiomatic. Yet linking “assets” to “lower-income citizens” is not only… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s Poor and Middle Income Families Pay a Higher Percentage in State, Local Taxes

(Oklahoma City, Nov. 18, 2009): State and local taxes take a bigger toll on the incomes of Oklahoma’s low- and moderate-income households than on higher-income households, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a… Read more [More...]