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The Weekly Wonk is a summary of Oklahoma Policy Institute’s events, publications, blog posts, and coverage. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know.
OK Policy’s director David Blatt was quoted in a NewsOK article explaining that 337,000 Oklahomans will be eligible for ‘Obamacare’ tax credits in 2014. David’s Journal Record column discussed the potential for an overhaul of public pensions to emerge at the very end of the legislative session, bringing major but uncertain and poorly understood changes.
On our blog we highlighted policy analyst Kate Richey’s upcoming lecture regarding closing the opportunity gap. We also explained that despite attempts by state officials to block the law, Oklahoma consumers will still benefit when the Affordable Care Act goes into full effect next year. The blog also gave an update on bills targeting the state’s poorest families and introduced a new Oklahoma Policy Institute fact sheet showing that Oklahoma’s public schools have relatively low administration costs.
- 26,295 – The number of affordable homes and apartments in Oklahoma that were developed and financed under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, enacted in 1986
- 63 percent – Percentage of women in Oklahoma without health insurance that are currently employed, 2013
- 27 – The number of states who are participating (or leaning towards participating) in Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act
- 6th – Oklahoma’s rank for the rate of female death due to firearms, 4.6 women per 100,000, compared to just 2.8 women nationally
- $706 – Amount Oklahoma’s public schools have lost per student in education funding over the last five years
Policy Notes
- The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shares their top five state tax charts.
- The Huffington Post reports on a survey that finds, most employers won’t drop health care coverage because of Obamacare.
- The Washington Post’s Wonkblog explains what you need to know regarding the Senate immigration bill.
- A report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income working families extend well into the next generation.
- Governing Magazine asks whether pension reforms have gone so far that governments can no longer attract the best person for the job.
