Articles
-
Budget & Tax, Law & Principles
Oklahoma House Speaker: No taxpayer benefits for illegals
Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert has introduced two bills aimed at ensuring that taxpayer-funded assistance programs—from SNAP and TANF to Medicaid and WIC—are provided only to individuals who are lawfully present in the United States.Ray Carter | January 16, 2026
-
Law & Principles, Economy
Study warns minimum-wage hike would cost Oklahoma 16,000 jobs, hit small businesses hardest
New research from the National Federation of Independent Business finds that the minimum wage increase proposed in State Question 832 would significantly damage Oklahoma’s economy, costing an estimated 16,112 jobs over 10 years—nearly 9,700 of them at small businesses—and reducing economic output by $697 million.Curtis Shelton | January 15, 2026
-
Law & Principles
As U.S. Supreme Court transgender cases loom, Oklahoma officials defend women
As the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in two high-profile cases over whether states may bar men from competing in women’s sports, Oklahoma officials are urging the Court to uphold those laws.Ray Carter | January 13, 2026
-
Law & Principles, Economy
Montana’s inflation-indexed minimum wage squeezes small businesses
Since tying its minimum wage to inflation in 2007, Montana has seen higher business failure rates, weaker startup survival, and a sharp drop in labor-force participation among young workers. Oklahoma risks repeating that pattern if voters approve SQ 832.Curtis Shelton | January 7, 2026
-
Law & Principles
Oklahoma restaurant owner warns SQ 832 will kill jobs, businesses
Restaurant owner and state Sen. Kristen Thompson warns that SQ 832 would devastate independent restaurants, pointing to California’s recent wage hike that led to job losses, reduced hours, higher menu prices, and increased automation.Ray Carter | January 6, 2026
-
Law & Principles
OKC mayor urges ‘top two’ primaries, but California’s track record undercuts the pitch
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt is urging Oklahomans to adopt a California-style “top two” election system, arguing it produces more pragmatic officeholders. But California’s real-world results tell a different story.Jonathan Small | December 29, 2025
-
Law & Principles
‘Top Two’ jungle primaries would be death knell for Independent, alternative-party candidates in Oklahoma
Independent and alternative-party candidates have played a meaningful role in Oklahoma statewide elections for decades. State Question 836, with its California-style “Top Two” primary, would make it nearly impossible for alternative parties to survive, reducing voter choice and silencing non-establishment voices.Chris Powell | December 22, 2025
-
Education, Law & Principles
New Oklahoma law closes loophole allowing abusive school employees to hop districts
A new Oklahoma law aims to end the practice known as “passing the trash,” in which school employees accused of abusing students resign and quietly move to another district without their misconduct being disclosed.Ray Carter | December 22, 2025
-
Law & Principles
Holt calls state leaders ‘bitterly unpopular’—but they outpoll him
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, who promotes “Pride Month” celebrating transgenderism and other sexual identities, recently dismissed Oklahoma statewide elected officials as “bitterly unpopular.” Holt says a California-style election system will produce superior governance.Ray Carter | December 17, 2025
-
Law & Principles
With California election system, no Governors Bellmon, Bartlett, Keating, or Stitt
A review of Oklahoma’s past elections shows that the California-style “top two” system proposed in State Question 836 would have kept nearly every Republican governor in Oklahoma history off the November ballot the year they were first elected.Ray Carter | December 10, 2025