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Health Care Reform (1): Coverage expansion can turn steep cliffs into gentle dips

This is the first of what will be an ongoing series of posts looking at the impact of the new federal health care reform law on Oklahoma and Oklahomans. For full information on health care reform, the Henry J. Kaiser… Read more [More...]

Classic Reruns: No-tax day

This is one of our most widely read and popular blog posts. It was written by Paul Shinn and initially ran on our blog on April 15, 2009. April 15. I’m not a fan of tax day. Who is? After… Read more [More...]

Revenues: Despite improvements, next year’s die is cast… unless the Legislature acts

Today’s announcement of the monthly General Revenue collections brought incontestable good news: State revenue collections in March topped prior year collections for the first time since December 2008 and the official estimate for a second consecutive month, State Treasurer Scott… Read more [More...]

ASPIRE-ing to lifetime savings and building assets

For many of us, the economic events of the past two years have eroded our savings and heightened our sense of economic fragility. Yet for many low- and moderate-income households, savings have long been out of reach. The 2009-10 Assets… Read more [More...]

Listening to the Mann: For Federal Medicaid Director, 2014 starts now

This week I had the pleasure of attending a gathering of policy analysts and advocates from 15 states on “Transforming Health Care Coverage for Children and Families,” convened by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. The conference, which focused… Read more [More...]

Bridging the Gap (4): Controlling runaway tax credits

As Oklahoma faces record budget shortfalls, the threat of massive cuts that would slow the state’s economic recovery and, in the Governor’s words, “have irreparable and damaging effects on our state services infrastructure,” looms large. This post is the fourth … Read more [More...]

Bridging the Gap (3): Leveling the playing field on sales tax collections

As Oklahoma faces record budget shortfalls, the threat of massive cuts that would slow the state’s economic recovery and, in the Governor’s words, “have irreparable and damaging effects on our state services infrastructure,” looms large. This post is the third… Read more [More...]

Lighter Side: A Solution to the School Funding Crunch a 4th Grader Could Love

Last night my family was discussing the tough times facing public schools in Tulsa and elsewhere. My son, Noah, who’s in the 4th grade, offered one of his favorite jokes (from Jokes for Children, Marguerite Kohl and Frederica Young, 1963):… Read more [More...]

Bridging the Gap (2): Closing the circle on the state income tax deduction

As Oklahoma faces record budget shortfalls, the threat of massive cuts that would slow the state’s economic recovery and have potentially devastating effects on schools, social services, and public safety loom large. In this context, there is an urgent need… Read more [More...]

Bridging the gap (1): Revisiting the vendor sales tax discount

With state revenue collections seeing their steepest plunge in a generation, Oklahoma is enduring a tough year of state budget cuts that are already having a harmful effect on families, communities and the economy. However, while the severity of this… Read more [More...]

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