The Performance Gap

Oklahoma’s failure to maintain and increase investment in public services, and its inadequate and unfair tax structure, have consequences for every one of our residents and businesses. By many measures, Oklahoma is becoming a less desirable place to live, particularly for low-income families and people of color.

This section shows that we rank low among states in income and high in poverty, particularly among Blacks and Latinx populations. It shows that we are not gaining ground in education, and that’s one reason we are becoming a less desirable place to operate a business. Schools and universities are under-funded and our students aren’t keeping up with those in other states. Both for adults and children, our health outcomes are in the bottom half of states, and we have high rates of accidental death, including deaths from fire and from vehicle accidents. Our crime rates are getting worse in comparison to our neighbors’ and we continue to incarcerate more people than all but one state. In spite of dramatic increases in spending, our roads and bridges continue to be in poor condition.

It might not be possible to solve all these problems simply with more government spending or a better tax structure. But it is not likely we will solve them without a more focused and more robust application of shared resources to address our shared shortcomings.