Nearly half of Oklahoma households are one misstep away from financial insecurity

Despite an improving national economy and a (deceptively) low statewide average unemployment rate, nearly half (49.1 percent) of Oklahoma households are in a persistent state of financial insecurity, according to a report released today by the Corporation for Enterprise Development… Read more [More...]

Closing the Opportunity Gap: Building equity in Oklahoma

Click here for a copy of a presentation of this research to the OKDHS Practice and Policy Lecture Series on 4/25/2013 Oklahoma’s prosperity depends on the financial success and economic achievement of the people who call it home.  For a… Read more [More...]

Up a Creek: Scorecard shows over a quarter of Oklahomans unprepared to weather financial crisis

In Oklahoma, more than one in four households are “asset poor,” meaning they have little or no financial cushion to rely on if unemployment or another emergency leads to a loss of income, according to a report released today by… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Assets: Coalition to advance economic security takes another step forward

OK Policy is an active member of Oklahoma Assets, a statewide coalition that aims to identify and strengthen programs and policies that help Oklahoma residents achieve economic security.  Oklahoma Assets has been making big strides in recent months, officially incorporating… Read more [More...]

Wealth and Worth: What’s race got to do with it?

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a conference hosted by the Ford Foundation and Howard University’s Center on Race and Wealth.  The three-day meeting was the first annual gathering of a diverse group of representatives supported… Read more [More...]

ASPIRE-ing to lifetime savings and building assets

For many of us, the economic events of the past two years have eroded our savings and heightened our sense of economic fragility. Yet for many low- and moderate-income households, savings have long been out of reach. The 2009-10 Assets… Read more [More...]

Asset poverty data shows many have no cushion to fall back on

As the economic downturn continues to take its toll in Oklahoma and across the nation, how financially prepared are families to deal with extended periods of unemployment and underemployment. Newly-released data (PDF) from CFED that focuses on “asset poverty” confirms… Read more [More...]

The racial wealth gap

It is widely known that minorities in the United States earn considerably less than Whites – according to the most recent Census Bureau data, the median income for a White household in 2008 was 34.5 percent greater than for a… Read more [More...]

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...]