Tag: Oklahoma

A quick look at the new state budget

Though the dust hasn’t yet settled at the Capitol, Oklahoma’s Legislature has nearly finished a budget for FY’10, which starts July 1. The final budget totals $7.231 billion. Legislators used $641 million from the federal stimulus bill to make up… Read more [More...]

Human services–forward into the unknown

When legislative leaders and the Governor announced the FY ’10 budget deal last Friday, they stated that the agreement “protects the four core functions of government, including education, health care, corrections and transportation.” It may not be that simple. The… Read more [More...]

Stimulus Funds – There but for the Grace of Congress…

It is clear that the $7.2 billion FY ’10 budget agreement reached by legislative leaders and the Governor will lead to a tough and painful year ahead as agencies struggle to address increased costs and growing caseloads on flat or… Read more [More...]

Out of step

A new report by our friends at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that the approach Oklahoma policymakers are taking to the current fiscal crisis – implementing budget cuts without drawing down reserves or looking at raising revenues… Read more [More...]

Busted

The May edition of Numbers You Need, our monthly update of key Oklahoma economic and budget trends,  includes some recent data on bankruptcy filings in Oklahoma that provides another indicator of the spread of economic hardship in the state. For… Read more [More...]

It's raining and we're starting to leak

The initial reports on the agreement for the Fy ’10 budget reached on Friday between legislative leaders and the Governor were positive – due to the availability of over $600 million in federal stimulus dollars, key education, health care, and… Read more [More...]

Easy money

Sunday’s Tulsa World reports that one of many important decisions left to the last week of the legislative session is whether to modernize Oklahoma’s unemployment insurance (UI) system to qualify for $75 million in additional federal stimulus money. According to… Read more [More...]

Holes in the net

Recently, The New York Times had a front-page article spotlighting the extent to which victims of the economic downturn are able to access public benefits that are part of the nation’s safety net.  Most programs, including Unemployment Insurance, food stamps,… Read more [More...]

This just in from the Stroud office

The Brookings Institution recently released a study of the continuing shift of jobs away from cities and toward the suburbs. According to Job Sprawl Revisited: The Changing Geography of Metropolitan Employment, only 21 percent of Americans who live in metropolitan… Read more [More...]

Spring Haircuts

On Friday afternoon, legislative leaders and the Governor announced the outline of a long-awaited budget agreement. This step is necessary to start the flood of bills to fund state agencies, allocate some of the federal stimulus money, and decide what… Read more [More...]