Food deserts are a big reason behind Oklahomans’ poor health

Ethan Rex was an OK Policy spring intern. He is a sociology senior at the University of Tulsa and a research assistant with Women in Recovery, an alternative to incarceration for eligible women convicted of non-violent, drug-related offenses. Earlier this year, Walmart… Read more [More...]

New housing study highlights major needs in Oklahoma

Affordable housing is more than just shelter. To the extent that housing is affordable, it determines if people have money left over at the end of the month to provide for food, utilities, and other needs. It determines if your… Read more [More...]

Highs and lows of Oklahoma’s 2016 legislative session

The 2016 session began with some high hopes and grave concerns given the state’s massive budget shortfall. Prior to session, OK Policy laid out our top priorities in the areas of budget and taxes, health care, education, criminal justice, economic… Read more [More...]

‘Running the Negro out of Tulsa’: Victims still wait for justice 95 years after Greenwood Massacre

Damario Solomon-Simmons is OK Policy’s legislative liaison and an attorney with the Riggs Abney law firm. As shocking as it must have been for you to see the title of this article, imagine the shock and horror my vibrant, peaceful,… Read more [More...]

Budget plan brings more bad news for Oklahoma seniors, children, & people with disabilities

Earlier this month, we warned that important protections for seniors, children, and Oklahomans with disabilities were crumbling because the Department of Human Services had already made “the easy cuts” and was now forced to make cuts that directly hurt our… Read more [More...]

This part of the budget deal may be the greatest threat to Oklahoma’s economy

Overwhelmingly, the states where residents earn the highest wages also have the best-educated workforce. Both productivity and median wages in a state are strongly correlated with the percentage of residents with a college degree. At the same time, overall state… Read more [More...]

Proposed federal legislation could yank free school meals from 51,000 Oklahoma students

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the 2010 Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act allows high-poverty schools to provide breakfast and lunch to all students. Access to free, healthy meals helps low-income children and families by improving child nutrition and behavior,… Read more [More...]

New bill would devastate a key tax credit for Oklahoma working families

Yesterday, a letter signed by more than 150 Oklahoma clergy was delivered to lawmakers and Governor Fallin, urging them not to slash key tax credits for working families to fix the state’s revenue problems. They were joined by numerous non-profit… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma women can’t afford wage discrimination. This bill aims to help. (Guest post: Alexandra Bohannon)

Alexandra Bohannon is an OK Policy Research Fellow. She is currently a second-year student in the Master of Public Administration program with a concentration in public policy at the University of Oklahoma. Alexandra works as a Graduate Research Assistant for… Read more [More...]

New video and tools to save tax credits for working families

[youtube id=”sN__TaZClHo” mode=”normal”] Today more than 140 religious leaders and over two dozen non-profit organizations and foundations are speaking out against state budget plans that threaten tax credits for hundreds of thousands of working families and seniors. Clergy from across… Read more [More...]