Category: Media

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...]

Social safety net, opportunity in decline, symposium speakers say (Tulsa World)

By Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World  Oklahomans tend to be more into gun shows and individual responsibility than seminars on race relations, wealth inequality and holes in the social safety net. That makes the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation’s annual… Read more [More...]

Another quality Oklahoma Policy Blog piece (JCO)

Mike Connelly, JCO We regularly laud the OK Policy Blog as a jewel among the policy-oriented blogs for any state. In a “good government” state and/or a fair world, the whole staff would be driving Beemers and on their third… Read more [More...]

Governor Fallin’s misleading tax cut (OK Politechs)

By Charles M. Phipps, OK Politechs I don’t agree with much at all of what the Oklahoma Policy Institute puts out, but their information about the recent tax cut legislation passed by the Oklahoma legislature and signed into law by… Read more [More...]