Topic: Economic Opportunity

Care for seniors, people with disabilities at risk as DHS grapples with budget shortfall

By: Carly Putnam
June 20, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Most Americans (nearly 90 percent of people over at 65) want to stay in their homes as long as possible as they get older. For people with disabilities, staying in one’s home represents decades of hard-fought court battles against forced… Read more [More...]

Highs and lows of Oklahoma’s 2017 legislative session (Part 2)

By: Gene Perry
June 13, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Yesterday we shared a recap of what happened this legislative session with the state budget, taxes, and education policies. Today in part two, we’ll look at outcomes related to health care, criminal justice, and economic opportunity. We began the session… Read more [More...]

Congress is trying to strip away Americans’ protections from predatory lending

By: Courtney Cullison
June 7, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last month, Governor Fallin made the right choice when she vetoed HB 1913 – a bill that would have expanded predatory lending in Oklahoma. In her veto message, Fallin pointed out that Oklahomans frequently take out high-interest loans at a… Read more [More...]

Schools use food trucks to fight food insecurity during summer months

By: Maggie Den Harder
May 30, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Maggie Den Harder is an intern with Oklahoma Policy Institute and a Masters of Public Administration student at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. For Oklahoma families who are food-insecure, school meals can be a lifeline. Six in ten students qualify for… Read more [More...]

Common sense reforms needed to protect Oklahoma tenants

By: Preston Brasch
May 9, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Preston Brasch was an OK Policy Spring intern. He is studying law at the University of Tulsa School of Law. Oklahoma faces a significant affordable housing shortage (see e.g. the 2016 Oklahoma Housing Needs Assessment and A Housing Strategy for… Read more [More...]

Bill to expand eligibility for Oklahoma’s Promise scholarships would be a win for all Oklahomans

By: Courtney Cullison
May 8, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The Oklahoma Legislature is close to passing a bill (SB 529) to make Oklahoma’s Promise scholarships available to more students. Available since 1996, these scholarships cover the cost of tuition for in-state students at an Oklahoma public college or university… Read more [More...]

Statement: We thank Gov. Fallin for vetoing expansion of predatory lending

By: Gene Perry
May 5, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement in response to Governor Mary Fallin’s veto of HB 1913, a bill that would have allowed a new form of very high-cost lending: By vetoing HB 1913, Governor Fallin has prevented the expansion… Read more [More...]

HB 1270 adds bureaucratic hurdles for Oklahoma families and won’t generate promised savings

By: Carly Putnam
May 1, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Earlier this spring, we warned that HB 1270 would grow administrative waste and punish poor families by requiring substantially more rigorous and more frequent verification procedures for families applying for SNAP (food stamps) and Medicaid (SoonerCare). Following public outcry, HB… Read more [More...]

Statement: HB 1913 creates unnecessary, abusive loans; Gov. Fallin should veto

By: Gene Perry
April 27, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement in response to the Legislature’s passage of HB 1913: It is very disappointing that the Legislature has approved HB 1913. This bill was ​drafted ​and lobbied aggressively by the payday loan industry​. By… Read more [More...]

What happened to my refund?

By: Courtney Cullison
April 18, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
It’s tax time again, and if you are one of the more than 300,000 Oklahoma households that claim the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) you may have noticed that your tax refund is lower than it was last year,… Read more [More...]