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What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know.
Upcoming Event
Tuesday is the last day to purchase tickets to our 2017 State Budget Summit! The 2017 State Budget Summit will be held on Thursday, January 26th at the Embassy Suites Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center. Click here for the full program or here to go directly to the registration page to purchase tickets.
This Week from OK Policy
This week, we introduced our newly updated Online Budget Guide, a useful tool to understand Oklahoma state and local governments, particularly how they collect and spend money. A post for the Together Oklahoma #Betterok Budget Bootcamp shared 8 facts about health care funding in Oklahoma. In his Capitol Update, Steve Lewis discussed the thousands of new bills filed for consideration this week. Executive Director David Blatt’s Journal Record column summarized a key takeaway from his recent interfaith trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
OK Policy in the News
Blatt spoke to the Associated Press about strategies for filling Oklahoma’s budget hole. Policy Analyst Ryan Gentzler appeared on a KJRH segment on law enforcement opposition to criminal justice reform ballot measures that passed in November. Our fact sheet on the state questions is available here. Policy Analyst Carly Putnam appeared on a podcast/Facebook Live broadcast on possible outcomes of Affordable Care Act repeal for The Frontier. Putnam previously explained that ACA repeal plans could throw Oklahomans’ health care into chaos.
Weekly What’s That
State Aid
State Aid represents the funds that are appropriated by the State Legislature for school districts, and distributed by the State Department of Education through the State Aid Formula. State Aid represents the funds that are appropriated by the State Legislature for school districts, and distributed by the State Department of Education through the State Aid Formula. Read more.
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“My medication will go from about $15 a month to about $600 a month, and I will stop buying it, and I will stop taking it. And then the disease will be unmanaged. … It’s a grim and ugly way to die.”
-Anna Holloway, a Norman resident who has health insurance through the federal marketplace, explaining that she would have no way to treat her rare autoimmune disorder without the Affordable Care Act (Source)
Editorial of the Week
Nobody likes paying taxes, which makes it difficult for one to voluntarily report sales taxes owed for internet purchases, as required on Oklahoma state tax returns. Over the past several years, Oklahoma like many states, has seen a significant decrease in sales tax revenue despite growth in our economy.
Numbers of the Day
- 13.1% – Percentage of adult Oklahomans who reported their mental health was not good 14 or more days in the past 30 days, 10th highest in the nation in 2016
- 19.9% – Youth unemployment rate in Oklahoma, 2013
- 19 minutes – Average time patients wait in Oklahoma emergency rooms before being seen by a doctor
- 23,000 – Estimated number of public and private jobs that will be lost in Oklahoma in 2019 if primary provisions of the Affordable Care Act are repealed
See previous Numbers of the Day and sources here.
What We’re Reading
- Child Care Scarcity Has Very Real Consequences For Working Families [NPR]
- Health Law Repeal Could Cost 18 Million Their Insurance, Study Finds [New York Times]
- Medicaid expansion tied to employment among people with disabilities [Reuters]
- Survey of pawnshop users shows where banks fail low-income Americans [The Center for Investigative Reporting]
