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"I used to think that public employee unions like the NEA were the main enemy in the struggle for limited government, competition, and private sector solutions," says Mr. Caldara of the Independence Institute. "I was wrong. Our biggest adversary is the special-interest business cartel that labels itself 'the business community' and its political machine run by chambers and other industry associations."

There is no legitimate reason why the taxpayers of Oklahoma should support an academic program -- the Women's Studies program at the University of Oklahoma -- devoted to women and the promotion of the feminist ideology.

In his effort to expand non-parental child care, Gov. Henry is citing the available research on the subject quite selectively. By promoting surrogate parenting for three-year-olds while disregarding the research exposing its risks, Henry and his allies are doing the children no favors.

Under the dome at 23rd and Lincoln, bureaucrats and taxpayer-funded special-interest groups take your money and use it to lobby for more of your money.

The utopian allure of group care for small children is a recurring theme in human history. The most recent listener to this ancient sirens' song appears to be Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry.

"Fundamentally, the early education discussion is not about the effectiveness or cost of the programs. At heart is the question of in whose hands the responsibility for young children rests," Olsen said. "Further entrenching the state into the lives of young children cannot be squared with a free society that cherishes the primacy of the family over the state.

With Oklahoma ranking first in the nation in the percentage of four-year-olds enrolled in preschool (60 percent), Oklahoma officials like to boast that the state has established itself as a national leader in "enabling children to enter school prepared to learn and succeed." State Superintendent Sandy Garrett declares emphatically, "Children benefit greatly from school readiness efforts."

The Oklahoma legislature should reconsider SB 37 and the recommendations made by the Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood Education. They should invest in families, rather than government programs, to improve the well-being of Oklahoma’s children.

[The following remarks were delivered October 23 at an OCPA dinner in Tulsa.]