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In recent months I have written several articles about a rural revitalization program for Oklahoma that mirrors the Rural Opportunity Zone (ROZ) program in Kansas, a program I helped to create. ROZ was the first economic plank in Governor Sam Brownback’s plan to address 50 years of lackluster economic performance by the state.

Scouting is done, the draft is over, and the rosters are set. In sports, nobody at this point would think the season is over. And in politics, with the election behind us, this is right where we are.

OKLAHOMA CITY—Alan Neitzel served for nearly 30 years at Rose State College before retiring in December of 2015 as the director of grants and contracts. During his time, Neitzel said he was witness to innumerable instances of fraud and waste at the college, sometimes by his own office. He said that public education at all levels in Oklahoma is fraught with rampant waste, and taxpayers should not give any more money to state-funded education until the dollars they currently receive are handled responsibly and transparently.

In a report from the state of Oklahoma Incentive Evaluation Commission on the tax credit for zero-emission facilities, the commission made clear that state subsidies for wind power generation in Oklahoma are decimating the state budget.

The change in presidential administrations is likely to usher in a new set of policy ideas and proposals. In the case of food and agriculture, the new president does not have to look far, as prominent food writers have already been making an aggressive case to retool the way the federal government regulates food and the farm.

The Oklahoma legislature passed a straightforward law legalizing brewers to sell their own beer on their own premises. They could already give out samples, and wineries were earlier freed to sell their own wine and host wine tastings. With the brewery law set to take effect on August 26 of this year, everyone was happy. Everyone except Keith Burt.

What is the best way to protect the environment in Oklahoma? Is it through local partnerships, where landowners, local industries, and state or local government work together? Or should we surrender power to Washington, D.C., letting people who may have never set foot in Oklahoma tell us what to do? This is the kind of practical question the Constitution is all about.

Oklahoma policymakers should take a hard look at school board elections, building-level autonomy, principal training, transparency measures, and other public-school governance reforms.

Black Lives Matter student-activists recently staged a “die-in” at the University of Oklahoma. I think you’ll agree, nothing says “we shall overcome” quite like (significantly taxpayer subsidized) 19-year-olds with hand-held supercomputers lying on the ground posting selfies on Instagram.

As Perspective readers well know, OCPA is devoted to public policy research and analysis. But what you may not realize is that in OCPA’s 22-year history we also have raised $127,000 and awarded it to Oklahoma students to attend college. That’s a pretty substantial amount, especially when you consider that scholarship-granting is not even our mission as an organization. But it shows just how strongly we believe in higher education.