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 published, “An Incomplete Recovery: The State Budget Outlook 2012-2015,” the third in our annual series of forecasts for the state budget. This blog post summarizes the forecast and lays out what’s at stake in the coming years if we don’t put the state on a sound fiscal path. Our budget projections were covered this week by the Tulsa World and the Associated Press.
To help comprehend the scope and severity of food insecurity in Oklahoma, we’ve guided you through a visualization exercise involving a treasured holiday tradition – college football. Also this week, we blogged about a job opportunity with Oklahoma Assets, a non-profit organization whose mission is to advocate policies and programs that can help create a more inclusive economy.
NewsOK likened our work protecting the income tax to severe weather alerts during tornado season. OK Policy analyst Kate Richey was quoted in an article about payday lending and its impact on the financial security of the working poor. Finally, bookmark the glossary of tax terminology we posted on the OK Policy Blog yesterday and use it whenever you need help navigating a tax reform debate.
In the Know, Policy Notes
- New Census findings on the “near poor” show that 100 million people — one in three Americans — are either in poverty or just above it.
- A nationwide poll of small business owners shows that very few see taxes and regulation as barriers to their success.
- The Century Foundation gives 7 reasons to celebrate the Supercommittee’s failure to reach a deal.
- $63.53 – Amount per month more the average Oklahoma household paid for gasoline in 2011, compared to 2010, now 11 percent of a median household’s income
- 2nd – Oklahoma City’s rank on a list of metropolitan areas with the largest increases in income segregation – the concentration of households in either poor or affluent residential areas – between 2000 and 2007; Tulsa ranked 17th
- $12,900 – Average annual health insurance premium for an employer-sponsored family plan in Oklahoma in 2010, up 48 percent since 2003
- 4,500 – Calories consumed by the average American on Thanksgiving Day, 2 1/4 times more than the recommended daily intake
- 7.5 percent – Percentage of Oklahoma households with very low food security – reporting disrupted meal patterns and hunger – in 2010, up from 5.6 percent in 2004
In The Know and the Weekly Wonk will be on hiatus next week while staff attends a conference.
