December 2005 Volume 12 Number 12

Revitalizing Oklahoma's Charitable Sector

December 01, 2005

After the Christmas gifts are unwrapped and the holiday decorations are packed away for another year, many Oklahoma families will begin facing the harsh reality of their holiday spending. While some will live more frugally for the first few months of the New Year, others will seek additional work to pay for their holiday excesses. But if the Oklahoma public officials... Read More >

Another Medicaid Boondoggle

December 01, 2005

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina seems to be providing Congress with an all-purpose excuse to increase federal spending. The latest example is a $9 billion Medicaid expansion proposed by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Max Baucus (D-MT), purportedly to help states pay for the costs associated with uninsured evacuees in the wake of the disaster. Congress has a... Read More >

A New Direction for the State Tourism Department

December 01, 2005

Now that former Gov. George Nigh has been hired as the interim director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department (OTRD), it seems an opportune time to examine the agency and consider some new policy ideas. Background The origin of the OTRD was a 1931 appropriation of $90,000 by the Oklahoma Legislature for the land where Lake Murray is located. Officiall... Read More >

Your Tax Dollars at Work

December 01, 2005

There?s been a lot of talk lately about Oklahoma?s proposed Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a constitutional amendment which would limit ;vernment growth and return excess revenues to the taxpayers. Regardless of whether this initiative gathers enough signatures and is approved by the voters (I?m optimistic on both fronts), it?s worth asking why the idea is so popular. A statew... Read More >

Promised Revenues Not Materializing

December 01, 2005

With a new tobacco tax, an increase in casino gambling, and a state lottery, we were all to be rich! What went wrong? Read More >

Using Lotteries to Recoup Welfare Payments

December 01, 2005

In a recent column, Wall Street Journal editorial board member Holman W. Jenkins Jr. had some interesting insights on "America's pathetic affair with state gambling." "Big money, politicians in control, and a fixed number of customers up for grabs - the invitation to sleaze was always going to be high as the battle for these [lottery] contracts played out," Jenk... Read More >

Needed: A Free Market for Gasoline

December 01, 2005

Many Americans understandably are upset with the sharp spike in gas prices since Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast in August, and are concerned by reports of oil company profits. But we must understand that high oil prices are not the result of an unregulated free market. On the contrary, the oil industry is among the most regulated and most subsidized of U.S.... Read More >

GOP Needs to Relearn Reagan's Lessons

December 01, 2005

It is hard to believe, but it has been 25 remarkable and often hopeful years since Ronald Reagan won one of the most important elections of the 20th century. Now, as Republicans go through their autumn of discontent and confusion, they would do well to look back a quarter century and study the leader who created the modern conservative movement and the modern Republic... Read More >

OCPA's Words Now Spoken By Others

December 01, 2005

An old English proverb says, "While the word is in your mouth it is your own; when it is once spoken, it is another's." Many times OCPA finds its own words and ideas repeated by others in small groups and large public gatherings - or noted in editorials or commentaries, speeches, or public debates. Often these words aren't attributed to us, but we don't mind. We want... Read More >

Quote Unquote

December 01, 2005

In honor of Katie Couric, the University of Oklahoma?s 2006 Commencement speaker, here is a selection of Couric quotes (courtesy of the Media Research Center). ?As your convention begins today, there is reportedly a power struggle ;ing on within the NRA. More traditional ? NRA members, conservative sportsmen, and a more radical branch of Second Amendment fundamentalist z... Read More >

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