Articles
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Education
Nearly 4 in 10 Oklahoma teachers would choose private or home schooling for their own children
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.Brandon Dutcher | November 17, 2016
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Education
Survey: Most Oklahomans See Educational Choice as a Moral Right
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.Jay Chilton | November 11, 2016
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Good Government
Revitalizing Oklahoma’s Rural Communities
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.Steve Anderson | November 11, 2016
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Good Government
Free Market Friday: The roster is set
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.Jonathan Small | November 11, 2016
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Higher Education
Longtime Purchasing Executive Says Education System Is Fraught with Waste
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.Jay Chilton | November 4, 2016
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Budget & Tax, Energy
Free Market Friday: Decimating wind subsidies
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.Jonathan Small | November 4, 2016
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Agriculture
‘Food Movement’ Agenda Not the Best Path Forward
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.Jayson Lusk | November 2, 2016
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Good Government
When Government Officials View Us as Children
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.Trent England | November 1, 2016
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Law & Principles
The Lesser Prairie Chicken and the Constitution
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.Trent England | November 1, 2016
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Education
WHY GOVERNMENT GOVERNS ITS SCHOOLS WRONG (AND HOW TO FIX IT)
Oklahoma policymakers should take a hard look at school board elections, building-level autonomy, principal training, transparency measures, and other public-school governance reforms.Greg Forster, Ph.D. | November 1, 2016