Articles
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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 | October 11, 2016
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Health Care
Free Market Friday: Saving teachers and taxpayers money
Say you need sinus surgery. Things go fine, but then for several weeks you constantly receive bills for various charges your insurance didn’t cover. There’s a bill from the surgeon, one from the anesthesiologist, an X-ray bill, one for lab tests, and one from the hospital.Jonathan Small | October 7, 2016
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Higher Education
Don’t Blame ‘Underfunding’ for Soaring College Prices
Death, taxes, and rising college prices—these are among life’s few certainties. Tuition and fees increases over the past five years at Oklahoma’s public higher education system are among the country’s highest, according to The College Board. The State Regents for Higher Education blame “underfunding,” but that excuse doesn’t hold water.Vicki Alger | October 1, 2016
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Budget & Tax
Increasing Oklahoma’s Sales Tax Is Bad for Business
The sales tax is perceived as a “good tax” because it taxes consumption and therefore minimizes tax-induced distortions in the rest of the economy. For example, a do-it-yourself homeowner who goes to Home Depot to buy a hammer to hang a picture is doing so for personal use, i.e., consumption. Yet, that same hammer could have been bought by a local carpenter who will use it to build cabinets that will be installed in new homes. In this case, the hammer is a business investment.J. Scott Moody & Wendy Warcholik, Ph.D. | October 1, 2016
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Education
School choice improves public education
School choice is the best-researched education issue, possibly the best-researched policy issue of any kind. And guess what? Choice is actually the best-proven method—by far—of improving public schools. If you’re serious about helping public schools, you should be serious about school choice.Greg Forster, Ph.D. | October 1, 2016
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Law & Principles
The Electoral College and Campaign 2016
Every four years, many Americans wind up on the losing side and thus disappointed by the presidential election. No matter how politically correct we get, not everyone can get a trophy on election day. These wins and losses too often color how we see our political institutions. This is certainly true of the often misunderstood Electoral College.Trent England | October 1, 2016
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Law & Principles, Good Government
Free Market Friday: Freedom needs privacy
It was a free speech forum, of all places. This month at the University of Missouri, CNN commentator Sally Kohn declared herself “happy” if people she disagrees with feel “under assault” for expressing their beliefs. “If they feel like they can no longer speak … good.”Jonathan Small | September 30, 2016
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Education
Some School Districts Resistant to Posting Credit Card Statements Online
One portion of an Oklahoma law dealing with financial disclosure requires local school districts to publish credit card statements online. And though some districts have expressed a willingness to comply with the law, other districts refuse to post the information on their websites.Jay Chilton | September 29, 2016
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Agriculture
Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment
Stillwater, Okla. — There is much to like about small, local farms and their influence on what we eat. But if we are to sustainably deal with problems presented by population growth and climate change, we need to look to the farmers who grow a majority of the country’s food and fiber.Jayson Lusk | September 26, 2016
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Health Care
Free Market Friday: The dole spoils the soul
Should we add more able-bodied adults to the welfare rolls? Oklahoma lawmakers have wisely rejected the Obamacare Medicaid expansion. Unfortunately, this push to expand medical welfare will return in 2017. Thousands of kids and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are already stacked up in a very long line waiting for Medicaid services. Medicaid expansion would push them to the back of the line while creating a new entitlement for up to 628,000 able-bodied adults.Jonathan Small | September 23, 2016