By:
David Blatt
May 12, 2009 // Updated: October 17, 2012
State Rainy Day Funds have one sole purpose: to be used during economic downturns to minimize the extent of cuts to public services and to avert tax increases. Prior to this downturn, Oklahoma has been able to build up our…
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All hail the interns
Over the course of the last several months, the Spring semester. OK Policy has had the honor of having two interns from OSU. Kai Mann and Austin Linton were our first two interns to come to…
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There is no doubt about our commitment–as a nation and a state–to improving educational opportunities and outcomes. Sometimes we forget about the key role nutrition plays in helping kids get to school and be ready to learn. For many Oklahoma…
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The debate over SB 834, the bill that would lift various mandates currently binding on public schools and make it easier to terminate teachers, has been one of the most contentious this legislative session.The bill passed both the House and…
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As the national and even our state economy continues to tighten, people are apprehensive about spending and even more so about giving. It is during times like this that challenge grants become increasingly valuable to the non-profit sector. When a…
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This week, the New York Times magazine ran an extended interview with President Obama on his economic program, while The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza profiled Obama’s budget director, Peter Orzsag. Both pieces devoted considerable attention to health care reform, and…
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Spending from the $787 billion stimulus bill, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA, is underway. Since passage of the bill in February, payroll withholding for most employees has been decreased thanks to the Making Work…
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Misery loves company? Really? That one doesn’t apply to the state and local governments of Oklahoma. More and more of them are revealing bleak budget pictures for the coming fiscal year, yet none seem to be enjoying the company.
We’ve…
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Recently, Louisville, KY negotiated a deal with Kentucky Fried Chicken to have KFC pay to fill in pot holes in exchange for the right to advertise on those potholes. Upon hearing this, the first thought I had was about the…
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By:
David Blatt
May 4, 2009 // Updated: October 17, 2012
In spite of all the attention paid in Oklahoma in recent weeks to such urgent matters as the Ten Commandments, stem cells, and the Flaming Lips, the real work of the 2009 legislative session has been unfolding largely behind the…
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