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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.
On the OK Policy blog, we pointed out that a poll claiming to show Oklahomans oppose ending a tax break for horizontal drilling is not being transparent about its questions or methodology, and that opponents of accepting federal funds to extend health coverage to low-income Oklahomans aren’t telling the whole story. Oklahoma is losing millions annually to tax shelters, and we suggested some solutions.
We wrote that, contrary to Governor Fallin’s assertion, most Oklahoma minimum wage workers aren’t living their parents. A new law we discussed could leave too many workers ineligible for unemployment benefits through no fault of their own. We released a statement condemning a deal to expand tax breaks for oil and gas drilling.
MSNBC quoted Executive Director David Blatt in a profile of Gov. Fallin’s time in office. Blatt was quoted in press coverage of an income tax cut Gov. Fallin signed into law. We’ve argued before that the tax cut will provide little benefit to most Oklahomans. Blatt also discussed education funding with Oklahoma Watch. In his Journal Record column, Blatt wrote that it’s time to get serious about reforming tax breaks in Oklahoma.
We are still accepting applications to our second annual Summer Policy Institute (SPI), a three-day crash course on Oklahoma’s policy landscape, featuring speakers and panels on a wide range of state policy issues for college students. Applications will be accepted through Friday, May 30th. Click here to apply.
- $44,373 – Average Oklahoma teacher salary in 2012-2013, 49th lowest out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- $13.25 – The hourly wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent ($689/month) in Oklahoma working 40 hours a week.
- $50 – $100 million – How much new revenue Oklahoma could bring in if the state adopted combined reporting, a reform that prevents corporations from shifting profits to out-of-state tax shelters.
- 49th – Oklahoma’s ranking out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia in a report analyzing health system performance.
- 69,221 – How many Oklahomans signed up for health insurance on the Affordable Care Act Marketplace in the open enrollment period.
Policy Notes
- Capital in the 21st Century, the most important economics book of the decade.
- A report from the National Employment Law Project finds an economy-wide shift to low wage jobsthat has continued every year since the Great Recession.
- The New York Times discusses how schools can build affordable storm shelters using concrete domes.
- A study has found that at least 4 percent of all defendants sentenced to death in the US are innocent.
- Paul Krugman discusses how policymakers and politicians have ignored both economics and the lessons of history by pursuing budget austerity during a recession.
