Articles
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Budget & Tax
How does Oklahoma state spending compare?
As of 2016 Oklahoma was spending $4,577 per person, more than Texas and Tennessee.Curtis Shelton | October 3, 2017
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Budget & Tax
Cost Avoidance #10: Legally access the rainy day fund
Oklahoma has a Constitutional Reserve Fund, more commonly known as the Rainy Day Fund, for such a time as this.Trent England | October 3, 2017
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Budget & Tax, Good Government
Conservative leaders' open letter to policymakers
Policymakers must make the same difficult choices being made by the most vulnerable, by working Oklahoma families, and by small businesses and other job creators in Oklahoma.Larry Parman, Tom Coburn & Frank Keating | October 3, 2017
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Budget & Tax
Cost Avoidance #7,9: Use cash on hand
Instead of raising taxes, legislators should consider spending surplus certified cash ($83 million) and accessing the CIRB account (over $100 million).Trent England | October 2, 2017
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Budget & Tax
Cost Avoidance #8: Make low-priority agencies non-appropriated
Three small Oklahoma state agencies offer examples of low priorities that could easily be removed from the state budget.Trent England | October 1, 2017
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Budget & Tax
Crying for more
From the first moments of the special legislative session, it was clear that special interests, their lobbyists, and tax consumers were talking solely about tax increases.Jonathan Small | September 29, 2017
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Budget & Tax
Cost Avoidance #5: End subsidies for Hollywood
The subsidy for movie and television production is simple cronyism—politicians picking winners and losers (and identifying most Oklahomans as losers)—and should end.Trent England | September 28, 2017
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Budget & Tax, Good Government
Conservative leaders urge Oklahoma politicians to protect taxpayers
We are a coalition of conservative citizens, many of us serving in leadership of state or local organizations, who write to urge you to address the need for more consolidation and other efficiencies in all areas of state government and to resist raising taxes on your constituents.Jonathan Small | September 28, 2017
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Higher Education
Expensive college degrees don’t always pay off
The average four-year college degree in the United States now costs $130,000, with roughly $40,000 of that paid for with student loans.Cody Ray Milner | September 28, 2017
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Budget & Tax
Cost Avoidance #2-4: Cut cronyism for wind companies
Capping annual payouts of the Zero-Emission Tax Credit and the ad valorem reimbursement for wind energy companies at $12.5 million each, and repealing the sales tax exemption for wind turbines, could save more than $72 million in the current budget year and more in future years.Trent England | September 27, 2017