For many of us, the economic events of the past two years have eroded our savings and heightened our sense of economic fragility. Yet for many low- and moderate-income households, savings have long been out of reach. The 2009-10 Assets…
Read more [More...]
Last night my family was discussing the tough times facing public schools in Tulsa and elsewhere. My son, Noah, who’s in the 4th grade, offered one of his favorite jokes (from Jokes for Children, Marguerite Kohl and Frederica Young, 1963):…
Read more [More...]
As the economic downturn continues to take its toll in Oklahoma and across the nation, how financially prepared are families to deal with extended periods of unemployment and underemployment. Newly-released data (PDF) from CFED that focuses on “asset poverty” confirms…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
February 11, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
A stark indicator of the extent of Oklahoma’s job losses over the past year is the state’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund account. Going into 2009, the Trust Fund enjoyed a very healthy balance of $824 million. Now, twelve months…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
January 13, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Kurt Hochenauer, whose OkieFunk: Notes from the Outback blog provides consistently sharp and perceptive commentary on Oklahoma political issues, recently had a nice piece in the Oklahoma Gazette putting the recent rise in poverty in the state in its historical…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
January 7, 2010 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The New York Times this weekend ran an important feature on one important and disturbing sign of the impact of the recession – the large and growing population of food stamp recipients that report zero household income:
About six million…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
December 14, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
How much does an Oklahoma family have to earn to meet its basic needs? What are the major costs of a family budget, and how do these vary for different family types and in different parts of the state? How…
Read more [More...]
The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Oklahoma 2009 calculates the amount of income Oklahoma families need to meet their basic needs. The report was prepared by Dr. Diana Pearce of the Cenetr for Women’s Welfare at the University of Washington for the…
Read more [More...]
OK Policy’s issue brief, More Than Just Getting By, serves as an overview of asset building in Oklahoma. A major segment of the population has few, if any, assets, despite the fact that they are a key element in developing…
Read more [More...]
By:
David Blatt
November 20, 2009 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This week we released the November issue of Numbers You Need (PDF), our monthly look at key data on the state’s economy and budget. As we reported in the bulletin, one of the clearest signs of the depth and length…
Read more [More...]
OKPOLICY.ORG
