Articles
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Budget & Tax, Good Government
Oklahoma state savings reach historic level
Gov. Kevin Stitt says record-high savings means the Oklahoma government can now provide tax relief.Ray Carter | August 4, 2022
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Budget & Tax
Lankford, other Republicans warn against tax increase
U.S. Sen. James Lankford and other Republican lawmakers warn that a proposed tax-and-spend package recently unveiled by Democrats, the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” will hammer U.S. manufacturing and cause consumer prices to surge even amidst historic levels of inflation.Ray Carter | August 4, 2022
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Budget & Tax, Education
Administrative spending soars at largest Oklahoma school districts
A state watchdog agency found that administrative spending is growing at a faster pace than instructional spending in the Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Putnam City, and Lawton school districts, but not in Broken Arrow or Jenks.Ray Carter | August 3, 2022
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Budget & Tax, Education
Watchdog: Oklahoma schools paid millions for unnecessary services
Oklahoma schools have received millions of dollars in annual funding to teach English to bilingual students who have already mastered the language, apparently allowing schools to inflate their budgets without providing extra services, a state watchdog agency has found.Ray Carter | July 27, 2022
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Budget & Tax, Education
Major irregularities found in school spending reports
A cursory review of the state’s Oklahoma Cost Accounting System (OCAS), a program that compiles financial data from all public-school districts, quickly identified significant irregularities, including reports showing Oklahoma schools spent nearly a quarter-million dollars on firearms that were labeled as nutrition services and other non-weapon categories.Ray Carter | July 26, 2022
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Budget & Tax, Education
Hofmeister backs down, agrees to greater transparency
Oklahoma Secretary of Education Ryan Walters has prevailed in a face-off with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister regarding millions of dollars in state spending.Ray Carter | July 25, 2022
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Budget & Tax
Tax cuts and opportunities for happiness
Lower taxes are not a panacea for all social problems, but they unequivocally help people find more work. That work helps people become more stable family and community members and offers a chance at finding a purpose for their lives.Curtis Shelton | July 8, 2022
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Budget & Tax
Inflation is cause for extreme caution on Oklahoma use of ARPA funds
What Oklahoma needs is private-sector growth, not increased government planning and spending. The former is the only path to increased prosperity for all.Jonathan Small | June 17, 2022
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Budget & Tax, Law & Principles
Fuzzy math in House tax-and-spending plan?
The leadership of the Oklahoma House of Representatives says that chamber will advance several tax proposals this week in response to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s call for passage of broad-based, pro-growth tax cuts—but indicated passage of tax cuts relies in part on cutting the budget of the governor’s office, citing the state’s balanced-budget requirement.Ray Carter | June 14, 2022
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Budget & Tax
Inflation crisis is vexing, but tax cuts can help
More than half a dozen states have already cut taxes this year. The current special legislative session gives Oklahoma a chance to join that group and not get left behind.Curtis Shelton | June 14, 2022