Articles
-
Budget & Tax
Cost Avoidance #7,9: Use cash on hand
Instead of raising taxes, legislators should consider spending surplus certified cash ($83 million) and accessing the CIRB account (over $100 million).Trent England | October 2, 2017
-
Budget & Tax
Cost Avoidance #8: Make low-priority agencies non-appropriated
Three small Oklahoma state agencies offer examples of low priorities that could easily be removed from the state budget.Trent England | October 1, 2017
-
Budget & Tax
Crying for more
From the first moments of the special legislative session, it was clear that special interests, their lobbyists, and tax consumers were talking solely about tax increases.Jonathan Small | September 29, 2017
-
Budget & Tax
Cost Avoidance #5: End subsidies for Hollywood
The subsidy for movie and television production is simple cronyism—politicians picking winners and losers (and identifying most Oklahomans as losers)—and should end.Trent England | September 28, 2017
-
Budget & Tax, Good Government
Conservative leaders urge Oklahoma politicians to protect taxpayers
We are a coalition of conservative citizens, many of us serving in leadership of state or local organizations, who write to urge you to address the need for more consolidation and other efficiencies in all areas of state government and to resist raising taxes on your constituents.Jonathan Small | September 28, 2017
-
Budget & Tax
Cost Avoidance #2-4: Cut cronyism for wind companies
Capping annual payouts of the Zero-Emission Tax Credit and the ad valorem reimbursement for wind energy companies at $12.5 million each, and repealing the sales tax exemption for wind turbines, could save more than $72 million in the current budget year and more in future years.Trent England | September 27, 2017
-
Budget & Tax
AP Reports state funds 'slashed,' 'depleted'
Sean Murphy covers Oklahoma for the Associated Press, which means his articles can reach across the country. In August, one such article claimed to explain how state budget problems have led to low teacher pay.Curtis Shelton | September 27, 2017
-
Budget & Tax
Cost Avoidance #6: End payouts for tribal tobacco sales
Did you know that some Oklahoma cigarette tax dollars actually go to subsidize the sale of cigarettes? Sound crazy? Here’s how it happens.Trent England | September 27, 2017
-
Budget & Tax, Health Care
TSET: Don't smoke, get drunk!
Why does a state agency award grants for “alcohol use prevention” while promoting bars and nightclubs?Trent England | September 26, 2017
-
Budget & Tax
AP reports state funds 'slashed,' 'depleted'
In June 2017, Gallup reported that 27 percent of Americans—and only 13 percent of Republicans—say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in newspapers.Curtis Shelton | September 26, 2017