OKPOLICY.ORG
Although Oklahoma is now several years removed from the worst of the fiscal crisis that accompanied the Great Recession, the gap between the cost of providing basic public services and the revenues we collect to pay for them seems to be growing. State agencies continue to be squeezed by budget cuts and funding shortfalls, tax collections are flat or declining, and ever greater challenges are looming on the horizon. What ideas and solutions can we bring to bear to address the fiscal gap?
These questions will be addressed on Thursday, January 29th as part of OK Policy’s 2nd State Budget Summit, titled “Mind the Gap: Sensible Budget Policy in Challenging Times”. The event will run from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm at the Will Rogers Theater, 4322 N. Western Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73118. Click here to buy tickets. The cost is $60, which includes morning refreshments and lunch; scholarships are available for students and those for whom cost would be an obstacle (to request a scholarship, send a brief email to info@okpolicy.org)
During the first part of the summit, participants will hear top experts discuss key issues shaping Oklahoma’s economic and fiscal outlook. Over lunch, our special guest speaker, E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post and Brooking Institution, will offer his perspective on the national budget as we move into a new period of divided and polarized government. The day will conclude with an afternoon session exploring the prospects for meaningful tax credit reform in the upcoming legislative session.
Syndicated columnist E.J. Dionne is one of the nation’s most widely-read and highly respected political observers. He appears weekly on NPR’s All Things Considered and regularly on NBC’s Meet the Press and other broadcast programs to discuss national politics. He joined the Washington Post as a political reporter in 1990 and began writing his twice-weekly column on national policy and politics in 1993. In 1996, the column was syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group and now appears in more than 90 newspapers in the United States and abroad, including the Oklahoman and Tulsa World. In 1996, Dionne joined The Brookings Institution as a senior fellow in the governance studies program. He began teaching at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute as University Professor in the Foundations of Democracy and Culture in the fall of 2003.
Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance. Click here to buy tickets. For the full agenda and additional information, see the event page on our website
