Quotes of the Day

“I’ve seen many of you on Facebook posting about your kids, their accomplishments, how proud you are to be their parents. Until you see their face when you look at these numbers; until you see your child being treated suspiciously; until you see your child being deemed dangerous to the point of the use of force simply as a result of expressing common human emotions and frustrations, you do not feel this urgently enough.”

-Tyrance Billingsley, speaking to the Tulsa City Council about the city’s large racial disparities in juvenile arrests [Tulsa World]

“What you see here is a deliberate effort to deny Oklahoma voters from having a say and to slow the momentum behind our campaign to help save rural hospitals and to make affordable health care a reality for nearly 200,000 Oklahomans. It will not work.”

-Oklahomans Decide Healthcare Spokesperson Amber England, speaking about a court challenge to the Medicaid expansion ballot initiative. The challenge was rejected by the Oklahoma Supreme Court yesterday, opening the door for signature collection to begin. [NonDoc]

“Not only does this take a burden off our Municipal Court and police by clearing out failure-to-appear warrants on charges like a speeding ticket, but it is also another step … in not further criminalizing poverty.”

-Oklahoma City Councilor JoBeth Hamon, on a proposed amnesty window ordinance that would give thousands of offenders who missed court dates a chance to pay a reduced fine or have fines excused if they cannot pay [The Oklahoman]

“For almost a decade, I have watched with frustration as Oklahoma has missed out and other states across the country have ensured access to care for hard-working families, improved their health outcomes and grew their economies by expanding Medicaid. Nearly 10 years of debate in the Legislature is enough.”

-Jake Henry Jr., CEO of Saint Francis Health System, on why he is endorsing an initiative petition to expand Medicaid in Oklahoma [Tulsa World]

“During the last boom, we undercut the state’s most important general tax, the personal income tax, under the false premise that a series of tiny cuts there would lead to prosperity. It didn’t, and in the following bust, we had no petroleum revenue and insufficient income tax revenue to do the things the government is supposed to do. We all remember what followed.”

–Tulsa World Editorial Editor Wayne Greene

“[Department of Corrections staff] are the subject matter experts. Please do not become the Legislature and treat them like second-class citizens.”

-Former Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Joe Allbaugh, speaking to the Board of Corrections after he abruptly resigned yesterday [The Oklahoman]

“Oklahomans are paying for Medicaid expansion in other states, but our obstinate refusal to accept the money for our own people puts the health of the working poor and the financial stability of our rural hospital network at risk.”

-Tulsa World Editorial Board [Tulsa World]

“Having more college graduates move out than move into the state can affect total educational attainment, which in turn could affect overall incomes and tax revenues, as higher-educated people tend to earn and spend more.”

-Chad Wilkerson, economist at the Oklahoma City Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, on his finding that over the past 5 years Oklahoma has had an average net outflow of 5,300 college graduates per year [Tulsa World]

“People in my district are going to be the ones buying this product, and they are going to get hurt or sick and they are going to go the hospital and find out they don’t have that type of coverage. This is affordable because it’s not quality health insurance.”

-Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, speaking about a bill approved by the Legislature this year to expand stripped-down health plans that go around consumer protections in the Affordable Care Act [Oklahoma Watch]

“A lot of students struggle to pay for everything. The Resource Room allows that spending that students were going to be doing on food to go to other things, most likely their tuition.”

-Michael Payne, who oversees a program at Northeastern State University where any student can get free food, clothing, toiletries, and school supplies [State Impact Oklahoma]