OKPOLICY.ORG
This column originally appeared in The Journal Record on August 6, 2025
Oklahoma prides itself on being lean and self-reliant, living within its means while others spend recklessly. But the numbers tell a different story. In truth, billions in federal dollars — much of it from taxpayers in other states — prop up Oklahoma’s finances. For every dollar Oklahoma taxpayers send to Washington, we get back $1.91. That’s not rugged individualism; that’s a subsidy. And it means that the hard fiscal choices some of our leaders brag about are possible only because someone else is footing the bill.
The myth resurfaced after a recent online spat between Gov. Kevin Stitt and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Stitt celebrated legislation that intends to bring our state income tax to zero through automatic tax cuts. Newsom replied that Oklahoma only affords such moves because states like California send more to the federal government than they get back. Oklahoma, meanwhile, takes far more than it contributes.
The numbers are stark. Oklahoma taxpayers sent $36 billion to Washington — and got back $68.9 billion, according to the Roosevelt Institute. That’s a net gain of $32.9 billion. These dollars went into roads, education, health and human services, agriculture, and more.
Put another way, the federal dollars flowing into Oklahoma were more than five times the size of the entire state budget appropriated by our state Legislature that year. Without that lifeline, the state government our leaders praise as “self-sufficient” would face a dramatic and immediate crisis.
And yet, the same federal tap that keeps many Oklahoma programs and services afloat may soon run dry. President Trump and his Congressional allies — including our entire state delegation — pushed through massive federal budget cuts to pay for historic tax breaks for the wealthy. It’s an upward transfer of wealth that will saddle our kids and grandkids with the bill. Even in other Republican-led states, such as Georgia, leaders are warning state agencies to brace for flat budgets during the next two years with no replacement of lost federal funding.
Oklahoma’s leaders have not issued similar warnings. Perhaps they’re unwilling to admit how dependent our state truly is on Washington. But denial will not shield us when the funding drought arrives. Only immediate, clear-eyed leadership can plan for the hard truth: Oklahoma’s fiscal health is quietly built on a fragile foundation of federal support. Pretending otherwise isn’t just bad storytelling. It’s a reckless gamble with our state’s future.
