7,500 unemployed Oklahomans at risk of losing benefits unless Congress acts

Despite encouraging signs that an economic recovery is gaining strength, unemployment remains at stubbornly and unacceptably high levels. Nationally, the jobless rate in October stayed stuck at 9.6 percent, while the latest state unemployment numbers found that 121,800 Oklahomans, or… Read more [More...]

An economic forecast from Mark Zandi

The first part of this week I am attending the annual State Fiscal Policy Conference organized by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. While most of the conference sessions focus on the fiscal challenges facing state governments – and… Read more [More...]

An honor to serve

Over the past year, one of the high points for me each week has been the hour I spend early Wednesday mornings in the kitchen of Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Tulsa helping with basic food prep tasks for the… Read more [More...]

Upside Down: New report shows most asset building spending helping the wealthy

It is widely accepted that ownership of assets – a home, savings accounts, stocks and investments, a business – is a cornerstone of family financial security. Assets provide a cushion against temporary setbacks and allow for an investment in greater… Read more [More...]

Going to scale: Initiatives to strengthen financial security are spreading

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the 2010 Assets Learning Conference that brought together over 1,000 participants for three days of plenaries, workshops and sessions exploring approaches to building an economy in which all Americans, including those of… Read more [More...]

Resources on Assets and Financial Security

OK Policy is actively involved in developing and promoting policy ideas that will allow more Oklahomans to build assets as a way to reduce poverty and expand economic opportunity. This page is intended as a guide to some key resources… Read more [More...]

Chart of the Day: Economy has lost over 9 million full-time, year-round jobs

Today the U.S. Census Bureau will release a new set of income, poverty and health insurance data based on the American Community Survey. This survey is the one recommended for state-level analysis, and we will be analyzing its data carefully… Read more [More...]

The 2010 Assets Learning Conference: Creating the Save and Invest Economy

This week I am participating, along with over 1,000 other delegates from around the U.S. and a dozen foreign countries, in the biannual Assets Learning Conference hosted by CFED in Washington, DC (Click here to follow our Twitter feed from… Read more [More...]

Child Development Accounts can offer a “financial head start’

Last week, the Census Bureau released new data showing that one in seven Americans, including one out of every five children, are now living in poverty. This week, some one thousand advocates, program directors, community organizers, business owners, policy analysts… Read more [More...]

New data on poverty and uninsured show recession's continued effects

The U.S. Census Bureau today released its annual report on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage for 2009 based on its March Current Population Survey.  The data reflected the severity of the recession throughout 2009: the national poverty rate rose… Read more [More...]