Articles

Agricultural regulation is an important issue for rural America. The Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are the primary regulators affecting the food supply chain from farm to fork. For row crop and cattle producers that dominate the landscape of the Great Plains, the EPA’s rules have the biggest direct effects. While these regulations are designed to provide many benefits, they come at a cost. Individual regulations are evaluated on cost/benefit grounds prior to implementation, but the costs of the overall regulatory burden on agriculture are not well understood.

History is replete with examples of obvious yet incorrect answers. The sun revolves around the earth. Labor inputs determine a good’s value. Now, another example has emerged. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, an obvious—yet ultimately incorrect—explanation for the rise in college tuition has gained currency.

An honest reading of the public-opinion survey data over the past couple of years shows that Oklahomans favor educational choice.

I don’t often get great new insights when I read the work of Oklahoma edu-blogger Rob Miller. But I did have an epiphany of sorts when I recently read an article of his arguing that public schools underperform for the same reason the post office does—because meddling politicians are in charge.

Oklahoma state legislators get a lot of criticism. That goes with the job, but sometimes criticism becomes downright absurd.

CLINTON—Phillip Koons has coached football in Oklahoma for more than 20 years. The majority of his time was spent at Tuttle High School where he led the Tigers to two state championships and produced a blue-chip quarterback named Jason White, who would later become a Heisman Trophy winner as an Oklahoma Sooner in 2003.

When asked what’s the best educational choice for their own children, one might expect near unanimity from Oklahoma public school teachers. Teachers might favor their own schools not just for reasons of loyalty to one’s employer (Thunder employees don’t cheer for the Warriors), but because they have firsthand knowledge of school quality and safety.

Should parents be allowed to use the tax dollars intended for the education of their child to subsidize the cost of an education at a privately operated school? Most Oklahoma voters say yes, according to a new SoonerPoll Quarterly Poll, with regular church attenders and evangelicals expressing even stronger support.

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.