David Stevens: Toward a functioning housing finance system

David Stevens is President of the Mortgage Bankers Association.  This post is excerpted from remarks delivered at the Consumer Federation of America‘s annual financial services conference in Washington D.C. on November 30th, 2012. We are in this unique paradox right… Read more [More...]

How medical debt erodes Oklahomans’ financial security

Medical debt is money owed for medical goods or services, like doctor’s visits, lab fees, or hospital stays.  One survey of low-income households in eight states, including Oklahoma, found that 46 percent of low-income households carried medical debt.  National survey… Read more [More...]

Cliff, slope, or hostage crisis?

Since the election, Washington DC has been consumed by debate over the “fiscal cliff,” a number of large spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect at the beginning of next year. Due to the spending cuts, Oklahoma would… Read more [More...]

Extending the Ladder: How microcredit expands economic opportunity

This post was written by OK Policy intern John Davis. John recently graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelors in political science and a minor in history. He enjoys researching and writing on a diversity of topics and looks… Read more [More...]

Inequality is bad for business

This afternoon, the State Chamber of Oklahoma is hosting a public affairs forum with a keynote speech titled “Defending the Dream: Why Income Inequality Doesn’t Threaten Opportunity.” The speech will be delivered by David Azerrad from the Heritage Foundation, who… Read more [More...]

Guest Blog (Michael Lipsky): ALEC’s and Arthur Laffer’s worthless recommendations for prosperity in the states

Michael Lipsky is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos. This post originally appeared on the Policy Shop blog. For most of its history ALEC has operated in the background, but its influence recently drew the spotlight when its promotion of… Read more [More...]

Payday Loans: Myths and reality

A recent broadcast of NPR’s MarketPlace Money featured a short commentary by Tom Lehman, a professor at Indiana Wesleyan University, defending payday lending.  Responding to widespread concerns about the high cost of payday loans and their tendency to trap borrowers… Read more [More...]

Marriage won’t end poverty

Poverty in Oklahoma is at a six-year high. Recent Census numbers showed that more than one in six Oklahomans – and almost one in four children – live in poverty. Even as we are lauded for our economic successes, the… Read more [More...]

Hunger by the Numbers: How many basketball arenas would it take…

OK Policy intern Amanda Marcott Thottunkal updated and revised earlier versions of this post, which ran in November 2010 and 2011. The US Department of Agriculture’s annual report on household food security was released in September. On average, during the… Read more [More...]

Closing the Opportunity Gap: Building equity in Oklahoma

Click here for a copy of a presentation of this research to the OKDHS Practice and Policy Lecture Series on 4/25/2013 Oklahoma’s prosperity depends on the financial success and economic achievement of the people who call it home.  For a… Read more [More...]