Authors
Jonathan Small
President
Jonathan Small, C.P.A., serves as President and joined the staff in December of 2010. Previously, Jonathan served as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma Office of State Finance, as a fiscal policy analyst and research analyst for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and as director of government affairs for the Oklahoma Insurance Department. Small’s work includes co-authoring “Economics 101” with Dr. Arthur Laffer and Dr. Wayne Winegarden, and his policy expertise has been referenced by The Oklahoman, the Tulsa World, National Review, the L.A. Times, The Hill, the Wall Street Journal and the Huffington Post. His weekly column “Free Market Friday” is published by the Journal Record and syndicated in 27 markets. A recipient of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s prestigious Private Sector Member of the Year award, Small is nationally recognized for his work to promote free markets, limited government and innovative public policy reforms. Jonathan holds a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Central Oklahoma and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Recent Articles
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Education
Momentum builds to revive Mississippi-style reading reform in Oklahoma
The State Chamber is urging lawmakers to revive the Mississippi-style early literacy law that once helped Oklahoma make major gains but was later gutted, triggering a steep decline in reading outcomes.Jonathan Small | December 1, 2025
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Economy
Market wages are already rising; SQ 832 would cause real harm
Although Oklahoma’s statutory minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009, the true starting wage in the real labor market is already higher. After all, employers must pay what attracts workers—not what a law dictates. State Question 832 would force wages to skyrocket far beyond what local businesses can sustain.Jonathan Small | November 24, 2025
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Budget & Tax, Law & Principles
Oklahoma’s food-stamp numbers spark questions about fraud
Oklahoma’s food-stamp participation rate is nearly 50 percent higher than its poverty rate—a gap wider than almost any other state—raising questions about potential fraud or lax eligibility enforcement. Oklahoma’s political leaders must ensure that benefits reach only those who truly qualify.Jonathan Small | November 17, 2025
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Education, Law & Principles
School-produced illiteracy crisis gets Oklahoma lawmakers’ attention
Oklahoma’s fourth-grade reading levels are among the worst in the nation. It appears our state lawmakers are beginning to take notice.Jonathan Small | November 10, 2025
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Law & Principles
Oklahoma’s commonsense petition reforms are clearly constitutional
A pending Oklahoma Supreme Court case will decide whether it’s legal to require initiative-petition campaigns to gather signatures from across the state rather than relying solely on urban centers.Jonathan Small | October 30, 2025
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Higher Education
OSU scandal highlights unequal treatment of conservatives
A recent incident at OSU underscores a broader problem: conservative students routinely face administrative hostility on taxpayer-funded campuses where ideological double standards thrive.Jonathan Small | October 27, 2025
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Energy
Green energy increases utility bills
As wind and solar energy expand to record levels across the U.S., electricity prices continue to surge—an outcome the green-energy movement prefers to ignore.Jonathan Small | October 20, 2025
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Energy
Fossil fuels are essential for human flourishing
Fossil fuels provide low-cost, reliable energy critical for lifting billions out of poverty and improving the quality of life worldwide.Jonathan Small | October 13, 2025
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Law & Principles
SQ 836 would import California’s voting system, thwart Oklahoma conservatives
SQ 836 would replace Oklahoma’s traditional primary elections with a California-style “top two” system. If adopted, the measure could distort representation, silence conservative voters, and open the door for far-left policies to take hold.Jonathan Small | September 29, 2025
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Higher Education
Higher education has an extremist problem
The murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has spotlighted a troubling trend: fringe-left ideologies nurtured on college campuses are increasingly translating into real-world violence.Jonathan Small | September 29, 2025
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