OKPOLICY.ORG
What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk is dedicated to this week’s events, publications, and blog posts.
This week OK Policy took a closer look at a new report showing that it’s harder to get ahead in Oklahoma than most other states. We posted about an upcoming event on Tuesday June 12th; join Oklahoma Assets for a 1-day Summit exploring how the high cost of credit in the state inhibits financial security for low and middle income families.
We posted a new overview of the state budget, with breakdowns of appropriations for FY 2013. A guest post by Dr. Michael Givel discusses alternatives to GDP for measuring progress. OK Policy Director David Blatt was quoted in an Associated Press article on the failure of the state GOP’s income tax-cut proposals. Our column in The Journal Record explained why this year’s failure is only a brief timeout in the tug of war over taxes.
In The Know, Policy Notes
- The Associated Press finds that despite accusations of EPA overzealousness, the number of enforcement actions against oil and gas producers under the current administration is markedly lower than the previous administration.
- The Asymptosis blog shows that millionaires do not congregate in states with low income taxes.
- Demos examines the hidden costs of 401(k) retirement plans that can consume nearly one-third of investment returns with excessive fees.
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reports on the 1 in 10 nonelderly veterans who do not have health insurance.
- 3rd – Oklahoma’s rank among the states for the number of major disaster declarations issued since 1953 (70), behind only California and Texas
- 19.4 percent – Percentage of student loans in Oklahoma that were delinquent, compared to 11 percent nationally, in the 4thquarter of 2011.
- 7 – Minimum age at which an Oklahoma child can be prosecuted in criminal court as an adult
- 63,741 – Number of veterans in Oklahoma receiving monthly disability compensation, 2010
- $274 million – Amount state appropriations for FY 2013 remain below pre-downturn FY 2009 levels, or 3.8 percent
