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Major new report sheds light on assets, opportunity and financial security in Oklahoma

Monday we participated, along with other members of the Oklahoma Asset Building Coalition, in the release of the 2009-10 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard, a major  report that looks at wealth, poverty, and the financial security of families in all 50… Read more [More...]

Our Online Budget Guide is coming soon

On October 6, Oklahoma Policy Institute will release its Online Budget Guide. This unique tool for understanding Oklahoma state and local government finances will be valuable both as an introduction for newcomers and as a reference guide for the more… Read more [More...]

Stagnant enrollment and other numbers you need

Last week we released the September edition of Numbers You Need, our monthly recap of statistics that shape Oklahoma. In addition to bad news for the short run–a higher unemployment rate, more people on public support programs, and the eighth… Read more [More...]

Health insurance reform explained.. in three steps!

The best flow chart ever, created by Nicholas Beaudrot of Donkeylicious, explaining how you would get health insurance if the major health care proposals under consideration by Congress were to pass:… Read more [More...]

Cutting into the bone: Impact of falling revenues starting to be felt

Anyone hoping for signs that the state’s budget woes had already hit bottom found little to cheer in Tuesday’s  revenue announcement [PDF] from Treasurer Scott Meacham. August General Revenue (GR) collections came in nearly 32 percent below one year ago.… Read more [More...]

Pleasant surprise: Oklahoma health insurance gains ground for all ages, types of coverage

As we noted right after the numbers were  released, last week’s Census Bureau report on health insurance coverage provided some unexpectedly good news for Oklahoma. While the nation as a whole saw an increase in the number of uninsured, which… Read more [More...]

Automatic for the people: New approaches to building savings

The Obama administration recently announced a series of measures aimed at making it easier for Americans to save.  As the New York Times article on the initiative noted, the measures are all rooted in research from the field of behavioral… Read more [More...]

New national data on income, poverty and the uninsured shows recession’s initial effects

Yesterday, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report on income, poverty and health insurance coverage for 2008  from its Current Population Survey. You can or click here for fact sheets and links to all the data or click here… Read more [More...]

You want insurance with that? Fast food chain covers its employees and helps its bottom line

Burgerville, a small fast-food chain in the Pacific Northwest, has always made a killer fresh blackberry shake. Recently, it also made a shrewd business move: providing health insurance for employees. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported on the genesis… Read more [More...]

Better Served: States are encouraged to broaden sales tax base

Should states be looking at broadening their sales tax bases to cover more currently untaxed services? That is the argument made in a recent paper by Michael Mazerov of  the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Most states could improve… Read more [More...]

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