Articles

Oklahomans already do much for public education. As our state seeks to build on the economic progress it is making, we should consider what we can do to provide our children the nation's finest schools-and do it. Every dollar we spend, we must spend wisely.

A group of Oklahomans interested in exploring expansive examples of school choice traveled to Philadelphia November 16 and 17. They visited Spruce Hill Christian School, talked with legislators like black Democrat state Sen. Anthony Williams of Philadelphia, and participated in long exchanges with people who have made inner-city education reform a reality.

Perhaps you've seen various straight-news stories in Oklahoma about state budget cuts, furloughs, and "revenue shortfalls of near-catastrophic proportions" (how's that for objectivity?).

In a recent article, I offered a modest proposal to enhance school choice in Oklahoma. I proposed that Oklahoma start funding a $3,000 tuition scholarship for every K-12 student who enrolls in an accredited Oklahoma private school. Such a proposal, I argued, would provide parents with more freedom, more flexibility, and more choices in finding the school that best fits their children's needs.

Does the market inspire people to greater practical virtue, or does it eviscerate what little virtue any of us have?

At the heart of the Christmas story rest some important lessons concerning free enterprise, government, and the role of wealth in society.

Oklahoma taxpayers have no direct way to judge whether or not they are getting a good "bang for the buck" for the goods and services provided by the public sector.

Dr. Keith Smith is a proud capitalist. The anesthesiologist often helps poor patients obtain surgeries at no cost while managing to keep his Oklahoma City-based practice afloat.

Governor Bradford's history of the Plymouth Bay Colony is a story that deserves to be far better known, particularly in an age that has acquired a mania for socialism and Communism, regards them as peculiarly "progressive" and entirely new, and is sure that they represent "the wave of the future."

Governments at all levels are facing severe budget deficits and prolonged fiscal crises amid the national economic recession. With the federal government facing a record $1.4 trillion deficit and at least 44 states facing a cumulative $281 billion in budget deficits through 2011, privatization and public-private partnerships have become increasingly prominent in fiscal policy debates. They will remain so in 2010 as policymakers attempt to reduce the price of government in response to ongoing budget woes.