As we showed in the March edition of Numbers You Need, the number of laid-off Oklahomans receiving unemployment benefits is skyrocketing. An average of 4,881 workers filed first-time claims in January, an increase of 149 percent compared to September 2008.…
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If you’re anything like me or most anyone I know, chances are you’ve spent a good part of the last year reading and listening to stories about “collateral debt obligations” and “credit default swaps” and “toxic assets” and “zombie banks”…
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The Oklahoman had an editorial today about the increase in the numbers of Oklahomans needing assistance to get by. Food stamp usage has reached an all time high in Oklahoma. It is a sobering editorial, but an issue that needs…
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Both houses of the Legislature this week passed a resolution, SJR 12, that would allow this year’s session to adjourn sine die on May 22nd, one week earlier than scheduled. The goal, explained President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, is to…
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As we’ve said, we are very pleased by Governor Henry’s swift action in launching a state website to provide information on the federal stimulus bill (formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA), as it applies to…
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Sunday’s edition of the New York Times had a front-page report on the steep drop in drilling activity that has followed plunging oil prices in recent months. Since last summer, the number of oil and gas rigs deployed to tap…
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Numbers You Need is a monthly publication from OK Policy that presents key data on the state's economy, work force, human services and budget in one concise easy-to-read fact sheet.
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Last week I sat down with the editorial board of the Tulsa World to discuss the state’s worsening fiscal outlook. Julie Delcour’s column in today’s Opinion section sets out some of our main messages about the severity of the problem…
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This afternoon at 3:00 marked the first meeting of Governor Henry’s coordinating council to oversee the use of the federal stimulus money available to Oklahoma through ARRA. All of the members of the council were in attendance for this inaugural…
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Over the past two years, Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland has been spearheading an extensive effort known as the State Coverage Initiative (SCI) to develop a plan to extend health insurance coverage to a sizable segment of the 640,000 Oklahomans who…
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