Header-interalia_logo
Friday 03 Feb 2012
  • About
    • Staff
    • Board of Trustees
    • Adjunct Scholars
    • Annual Report
  • Events
    • WWRD
    • 2012 Essay Contest
    • Lecture Series
  • Publications
    • Perspective
    • Capitol Ideas
    • Policy Papers
    • FaxLine Report
    • Recommended Reading
  • Research
    • Center for Economic Freedom
    • Center for Educational Freedom
    • Center for Health Freedom
    • Center for Constitutional Freedom
    • Other
    • Archives
  • Blog
  • Media
    • News
    • Featured Hot News
    • Media Inquiries
    • Request an Expert
    • Videos
    • Audio
  • Get Involved
    • Join/Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • The 1787 Society
    • Internships
    • Capital Campaign
    • Contact
  • What Would Reagan Do?
  • RSS

BLOG

Home » Blog

FEB
03

The great American heritage heist (Part 3)

Fri, Feb 03, 2012 08:26 AM CST
By Brett A. Magbee

It is progressives who are credited with creating the environment of our “welfare state” and the subsequent entitlement philosophy that many of our citizens today embrace as “rights.” Matthew Spalding, in his bestselling book entitled, We Still Hold These Truths: Rediscovering Our Principles, Reclaiming Our Future, notes, “A ...

FEB
02

Ed in the sand

Higher Education Thu, Feb 02, 2012 11:36 AM CST
By Brandon Dutcher
Ed in the sand

I’ve written before about the defenders of the status quo in common education. Hopelessly stuck in the last century, they seem to think “you’re doin’ fine, Oklahoma.” Unfortunately, this appears to be a problem in higher education as well. In his most recent column in The Journal Record, law professor Andrew Spiropoulos, who ...

FEB
01

Oversight of federal funding needed

Blog Wed, Feb 01, 2012 09:00 AM CST
By Jonathan Small, CPA
Oversight of federal funding needed

State spending is at an all-time high. The most significant driver of state spending growth is federal funds, or what tax users like to think of as “free” money. It is the federally induced welfare programs, such as Medicaid, that require ever-increasing state funding matches for the programs’ exploding costs. (Michael S. Gre...

JAN
31

Number of middle-class tax filers growing

Taxes and WWRD Tue, Jan 31, 2012 01:39 PM CST
By Jonathan Small, CPA
Number of middle-class tax filers growing

A mantra from self-described “progressives” in Oklahoma is that the middle class is shrinking and “the rich” don’t pay their fair share of taxes. Despite this exercise in the politics of envy, the Oklahoma Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) tells a different story. The CAFR is the primary means of reporting the stat...

JAN
30

You’re not doin’ fine, Oklahoma

Education , School Choice , and Vouchers Mon, Jan 30, 2012 02:06 PM CST
By Brandon Dutcher

Last year a state senator from Little Dixie made the astonishing claim that Oklahoma’s public schools “are doing a great job in educating our students.”That remark came to mind this month when the latest edition of Education Week’s Quality Counts was released. Oklahoma received a “D” grade for student performance. Also releas...

JAN
27

The great American heritage heist (Part 2)

Fri, Jan 27, 2012 04:58 PM CST
By Brett A. Magbee

Last week I touched on the nature of the early progressive movement at the turn of the 20th Century. You can think of the progressive movement as anti-constitutionalism. It’s an idea that academics and writers developed that challenges the fundamental principles of “fixed truths” or “inalienable rights.” This movement thrived...

JAN
26

Yet another reason to stop funding OETA

Spending , Taxes , Budget , and WWRD Thu, Jan 26, 2012 04:33 PM CST
By Jonathan Small, CPA
Yet another reason to stop funding OETA

OCPA has previously recommended that the state no longer give taxpayer dollars to the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA). Oklahoma would not be unusual in taking such an approach, as 17 other states do not provide state funding for public television. When you take a dollar from someone you make them less free, s...

JAN
25

Why local governments should favor Oklahoma income-tax phaseout

Income Tax and WWRD Wed, Jan 25, 2012 01:41 PM CST
By Brandon Dutcher

In a recent column published in The Lawton Constitution (“Phaseout would create an economic boom,” January 24), I suggested that “Oklahoma should phase out its personal income tax and replace it with nothing. No property tax increases. No sales tax increases. Nothing.”I gave three reasons why, perhaps the most important of wh...

JAN
24

Kansas, Oklahoma leading path to economic freedom

Income Tax and WWRD Tue, Jan 24, 2012 02:24 PM CST
By Jonathan Small, CPA
Kansas, Oklahoma leading path to economic freedom

Taxpayers and job creators in Kansas and Oklahoma have to be encouraged that policymakers in both states are taking seriously the undeniable fact that the lowest-tax-burden states and the no-income-tax states soundly outperform the nation when it comes to economic growth. The state of Illinois is a testament to this reality.K...

JAN
23

Lt. Governor offers workers’ comp reform ideas

Workers Comp Reform Mon, Jan 23, 2012 12:41 PM CST
By Brandon Dutcher
Lt. Governor offers workers’ comp reform ideas

The problems with Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system are well known. According to the latest edition of Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, Oklahoma ranks a woeful 47th among the 50 states, with average workers’ compensation costs of $2.87 per $100 of payroll.Next month OCPA will r...

JAN
20

The great American heritage heist

History and America Fri, Jan 20, 2012 02:41 PM CST
By Brett A. Magbee
The great American heritage heist

There is disdain for our Constitution and Declaration of Independence among many of the elitists in high political office and it’s at the core of what is troubling America. In fact, there is solid evidence to support the belief that we wouldn’t be in the economic peril we find ourselves today if we would only adhere to the te...

JAN
19

What about the $597 million in spillover funds?

Spending , Income Tax , and WWRD Thu, Jan 19, 2012 03:58 PM CST
By Jonathan Small, CPA
What about the $597 million in spillover funds?

The weeping and wailing from the left and from various tax users about the state’s “crumbling infrastructure,” which is cited as proof of a shortage of state revenue, is an oft-told sob story. What they don’t want you to know, however, is that state spending is at an all-time high.Yes, it is true that some of the state’s infr...

JAN
16

All-star lineup set for School Choice Week town hall meeting

School Choice Week Mon, Jan 16, 2012 12:12 PM CST
By Brandon Dutcher
All-star lineup set for School Choice Week town hall meeting

Public education is being redefined. More and more, people are coming to understand that “public education” simply means “educating the public”—and it doesn’t matter where that education takes place.Pennsylvania state Sen. Anthony H. Williams, a liberal black Democrat, says “an innovative and productive public education syste...

JAN
13

This is America, isn’t it?

EPA and Regulation Fri, Jan 13, 2012 07:00 PM CST
By Brett A. Magbee
This is America, isn’t it?

I guess you can file this under, “This is America, isn’t it?” Well, that’s what one Idaho couple is no doubt still wondering. Mike and Chantell Sackett paid $23,000 for some property in 2005 and two years later decided to build a three bedroom house. Workers spent three days filling in a half acre of land with dirt and rock, ...

JAN
12

No property-tax increase necessary (Part 2)

Income Tax , Property Tax , and WWRD Thu, Jan 12, 2012 01:01 PM CST
By Jonathan Small, CPA
No property-tax increase necessary (Part 2)

I recently addressed the scare tactic used by our friends on the left and various tax users who claim that “property taxes will increase” if the state phases out its personal income tax. We have recently received great feedback regarding this subject. One correspondent wrote to me and asked: “On point three, doesn't it natura...

JAN
10

Most Oklahomans are conservative

SoonerPoll Tue, Jan 10, 2012 01:35 AM CST
By Brandon Dutcher

                                                            Click image to enlarge

JAN
09

Stemming the tide of graduates

Higher Education Mon, Jan 09, 2012 12:09 PM CST
By Brandon Dutcher
Stemming the tide of graduates

Though I don’t embrace the blanket assertion that “Oklahoma needs more college graduates,” I do believe Oklahoma needs more STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) graduates.Fortunately, many people are working toward that end. For example, an organization called Laying the Foundation, working in conjunction ...

JAN
05

No property-tax increase necessary

Income Tax , Property Tax , and WWRD Thu, Jan 05, 2012 03:22 PM CST
By Jonathan Small, CPA
No property-tax increase necessary

On November 29, 2011, OCPA and Art Laffer, Ph.D., an economic adviser to President Ronald Reagan, released the findings of a new research study evaluating the economic benefits of phasing out Oklahoma's personal income tax over a 10-year period. One of the report’s key findings is that eliminating Oklahoma's personal income t...

JAN
05

BOE on the right track

Spending and Board of Equalization Thu, Jan 05, 2012 12:17 PM CST
By Jonathan Small, CPA
BOE on the right track

Right before the Christmas break, members of the State Board of Equalization (BOE), which is chaired by Gov. Mary Fallin, gave a gift to Oklahoma citizens and taxpayers. The gift by the members came in the form of a wise move while conducting their duties to establish the preliminary revenue certification estimate. Citizens o...

JAN
02

Change is coming to Higher Ed

Higher Education Mon, Jan 02, 2012 02:19 PM CST
By Brandon Dutcher
Change is coming to Higher Ed

I suspect the well-established, profitable horse-and-buggy industry paid little attention to this fellow Henry Ford, tinkering in his little shop. And oftentimes it seems that officials in Oklahoma’s higher-education system are similarly obtuse, thinking the status quo can last forever.It can’t, and it won’t. “Dramatic change...

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 19 20 Next »

Affiliate Blogs

Choice Remarks »

Health & Liberty »

The 1787 Society »

  • Popular
  •  Twitter
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Why school boards often don’t represent their constituents

    Why school boards often don’t represent their c...

    Monday, November 21, 2011
  • Oklahoma’s Improved Economic Performance Suggests Right to Work Is Working

    Oklahoma’s Improved Economic Performance Sugges...

    Tuesday, October 04, 2011
  • Does Oklahoma need more college graduates?

    Does Oklahoma need more college graduates?

    Monday, October 31, 2011
  • Leading the nation?

    Leading the nation?

    Monday, December 12, 2011
  •  
  • The great American heritage heist (Part 3)

    The great American heritage heist (Pa...

    Friday, February 03, 2012
  • In Case You Missed It

    In Case You Missed It

    Thursday, February 02, 2012
  • Ed in the sand

    Ed in the sand

    Thursday, February 02, 2012
  • The Great American Heritage Heist – Part 3

    The Great American Heritage Heist – P...

    Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Popular Tags
  • FaxLine Report Spending Education Taxes School Choice Budget Higher Education WWRD Income Tax Economics ObamaCare Medicaid Jobs SoonerPoll Freedom Special Needs HealthCare Economy Business Dr. Fears Family Budget Crunch Pension Reform Government Waste In Case You Missed It

National Debt Clock

Cost of Living Index Calculator

Spend-O-Meter

How Fast Does State Government Spend Your Money? See Details »

FEATURED VIDEOS

Jones2 Play

Video24 Remembering Reagan: Brenda Jones Barwick

Remembering Reagan: Marc Nuttle

Video24 Remembering Reagan: Marc Nuttle

Friday, January 27, 2012
Remembering Reagan: J. Rufus Fears

Video24 Remembering Reagan: J. Rufus Fears

Friday, January 20, 2012
OCPA staff shares what Reagan would do in Oklahoma

Video24 OCPA staff shares what Reagan would do in Oklahoma

Friday, January 13, 2012

Newsletter Signup

Contact

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
1401 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73104
Phone: (405) 602-1667
Fax: (405) 602-1238
E-mail: ocpa@ocpathink.org

Site Map

  • About
  • Staff
  • Board of Trustees
  • Adjunct Scholars
  • Annual Report
  • WWRD
  • 2012 Essay Contest
  • Lecture Series
  • Perspective
  • Capitol Ideas
  • Policy Papers
  • FaxLine Report
  • Recommended Reading
  • Center for Economic Freedom
  • Center for Educational Freedom
  • Center for Health Freedom
  • Center for Constitutional Freedom
  • Other
  • Blog
  • News
  • Featured Hot News
  • Media Inquiries
  • Request an Expert
  • Videos
  • Audio
  • Join/Donate
  • Planned Giving
  • The 1787 Society
  • Internships
  • Capital Campaign
  • Contact
  • Spend-O-Meter
  • Main Features
  • Cost of Living Index Calculator
  • What Would Reagan Do?

© Copyright 2012 Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. All rights reserved