Topic: Economic Opportunity

Policy Basics: Oklahoma’s Food Security Safety Net

By: Gene Perry
November 25, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This year brought impressive economic growth for many Oklahomans. The state unemployment rate is among the lowest in the nation, and our economy is recovering rapidly from the Great Recession. Despite these encouraging indicators, Oklahomans also face serious challenges: rising… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma Assets Network: Take action to support working families

By: Kate Richey
November 21, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In many ways Oklahoma is well positioned to offer residents opportunities to get ahead – our lower than average cost of living, booming energy sector, and low overall unemployment rate are key ingredients for financial prosperity.  Yet too many other… Read more [More...]

The State of Oklahoma Women (Part Two): Healthy women, healthy families

By: Carly Putnam
November 14, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This post is the second of a two-part series on the state of women in Oklahoma based on the Center for American Progress’s report “The State of Women in America: A 50-State Analysis of How Women are Faring Across the… Read more [More...]

The State of Oklahoma Women (Part One): Economic security and leadership

By: Carly Putnam
November 7, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This is the first of a two-part series examining the state of women in Oklahoma based on three indicators: economic security, leadership and health of women and families. The first post focuses on economic security and leadership; the second post… Read more [More...]

SNAP Down: Reduced food benefits set to hit one in six Oklahomans

By: Carly Putnam
October 30, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This post was written by OK Policy intern Carly Putnam. Carly is an undergraduate at the University of Tulsa majoring in Sociology and Women’s & Gender Studies. She can be found on Twitter at @CarlyPutnam.  The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program,… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma poverty holds steady overall in 2012, but edges up for women and children

By: Kate Richey
October 9, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Poverty rates in Oklahoma held steady in 2012, according to data released last month by the U.S. Census Bureau.  Consistent with numbers from 2011, one in six Oklahomans (17.2%) and nearly one in four children (24.1%) live in poverty.   To… Read more [More...]

Charity can’t replace the safety net

By: Gene Perry
October 2, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The third annual food drive sponsored by Governor Fallin and Oklahoma’s Regional Food Banks began this week. In previous years, the food drive has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars and many more pounds of food for Oklahoma’s poorest families.… Read more [More...]

The Hunger Games: Feeding a family with food stamps (Guest Post: Camille Landry)

By: Camille Landry
September 30, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Camille Landry is a writer, activist, and social justice advocate who lives in Oklahoma City.  This post is part of our “Neglected Oklahoma” series, which tells the stories of Oklahomans in situations where the basic necessities of life are hard… Read more [More...]

A strategy to combat urban sprawl and fund local services (Guest Post: Greg Burge and Trey Trosper)

By: Guest
September 25, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Greg Burge is an Associate Professor and Trey Trosper is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Economics at the University of Oklahoma. Both are members of the Scholars Strategy Network. This blog post is based on a paper they… Read more [More...]

2012 New Census data shows stagnant incomes, many Oklahomans still living in poverty

By: Kate Richey
September 19, 2013 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This post was written by OK Policy intern Annie Mitchell (with a little help from Carly Putnam).  Annie is a native Tulsan pursuing her Master’s in Social Work at OU-Tulsa.  Carly is an undergraduate at the University of Tulsa majoring… Read more [More...]