By:
David Blatt
February 24, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
I posted an entry this morning that compared the mid-year budget cuts being absorbed by each of the ten largest state agencies. Unfortunately, the post – which I’ve now deleted – included outdated information regarding funding for the Departments of…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
February 22, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
For the second time in less than a month, the Governor and legislative leaders have announced an agreement on how to address the huge shortfalls in this year’s budget caused by declining revenue collections. This second agreement is not much…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
February 18, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
There is definitely something in the air. Over the past several weeks, there has been a heavy flurry of attention paid to the state’s system of tax expenditures, the array of over 450 exemptions, credits, deductions and the like that…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
February 16, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
This morning, the State Board of Equalization will meet to certify the revised FY ’11 revenue estimates (we’ve posted the certification packet to our website). The February certification is binding on the Legislature as it develops the FY ’11 budget…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
February 15, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Earlier this year, we put out an issue brief and blog post that identified the need for better budget forecasting as one of the lessons that should be learned from the state’s current budget woes to avoid crises of similar…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
February 12, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
From time to time, we use the OK Policy blog to post submissions we receive from Oklahomans who have interesting perspectives on important policy issues for the state. This entry is from Jeff Alderman, M.D., an associate professor in the…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
February 11, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
A stark indicator of the extent of Oklahoma’s job losses over the past year is the state’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund account. Going into 2009, the Trust Fund enjoyed a very healthy balance of $824 million. Now, twelve months…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
February 9, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
We may never have expected to see the day when the announcement that monthly revenue collections had come in 16.7 percent below the prior year and 20.8 percent below the certified estimate would be taken as good news. But after…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
February 8, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Just before the start of the Legislative session, Governor Henry announced that he had reached an agreement with Speaker Benge and President Pro Tem Coffee on the FY ’10 budget. Faced with projected mid-year revenue shortfalls of slightly more than…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
February 4, 2010 // Updated: May 1, 2019
The January-February issue of the Atlantic Monthly magazine features an excellent cover article by editor James Fallow weighing the question of whether America has entered a period of terminal decline. On the one hand, he suggests that the nation’s crucial…
Read more [More...]
OKPOLICY.ORG
