The Weekly Wonk: October 12, 2012

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 Oklahoma Policy Institute released a summary and analysis of each state question that will be on the ballot in November.  We blogged about what federal budget cuts mean for education in Oklahoma.

The OK Policy Blog also discussed why Oklahoma should not follow Kansas’ radical experiment.  Large income tax cuts have created a $2.5 billion hole in the budget and Governor Brownback is now suggesting a permanent increase in sales taxes.  David Blatt’s latest Journal Record column explained why the gap between the needs of employers and the educational attainment of our workforce may be the gravest threat to Oklahoma’s prosperity.

OK Policy analyst Gene Perry told CapitolBeatOK that there’s a better solution if State Question 766 fails and was quoted in the Oklahoma Gazette about growing concerns that we’re underfunding education.

Numbers of the Day

• $3.60 – Average price per gallon for regular gasoline in Oklahoma, 10th lowest in the U.S. this week
• 2/3rds – Share of Oklahomans who think human activity may be partly responsible for global climate change
• 1 percent – Percentage of public school students enrolled in charter schools in Oklahoma in 2011, 6,576 out of 659,615 total students
• 6,756 – The number of people in Oklahoma with an intellectual and/or developmental disability currently on the waiting list to receive state services; the average wait time is 8 years.
• 3 – Number of people living in Cardin, the smallest town in Oklahoma in 2010

Policy Notes

• Researchers at Washington University showed that free contraceptives dramatically reduce the number of abortions and unintended pregnancies.
• SCOTUSblog summarizes a case before the Supreme Court challenging affirmative action programs at public universities.
• The National Women’s Law Center examines September jobs data showing that women’s unemployment rate is at a three and a half year low.
• The Economic Policy Note examines the role of green jobs in the economy and finds that Oklahoma is 48th in the country for green jobs per capita.
• Science magazine reports on the long-term physical and mental health effects of living in high poverty neighborhoods.