December 2009 Volume 16 Number 12

Three Reasons Oklahoma Needs School Choice
December 07, 2009
By Mickey Hepner

In a recent article, I offered a modest proposal to enhance school choice in Oklahoma. I proposed that Oklahoma start funding a $3,000 tuition scholarship for every K-12 student who enrolls in an accredited Oklahoma private school. Such a proposal, I argued, would provide parents with more freedom, more flexibility, and more choices in finding the school that best fits their children's needs.

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The Economic Lessons of Bethlehem
December 07, 2009
By Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

At the heart of the Christmas story rest some important lessons concerning free enterprise, government, and the role of wealth in society.

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The Free Market: A School of Virtue
December 07, 2009
By Stephen J. Grabill

Does the market inspire people to greater practical virtue, or does it eviscerate what little virtue any of us have?

Far from draining moral goodness out of us-as many think-the free market serves as a "school of the practical virtues." Rather than elevating greed and self-sufficiency, the market fosters interdependence and cooperation. Its rewards do not go to those who are the most isolated, self-absorbed, or cut off from society, but to those who sustain mutually prosperous relationships with others.

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How Long Do Oklahomans Work to Pay Their Taxes?
December 07, 2009
By J. Scott Moody and Wendy P. Warcholik

In FY 2008, Oklahomans paid an estimated $34,569,140,000 in federal, state, and local taxes, such as income taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes, to name just a few.

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OCPA’s Freedom Agenda for 2010
December 07, 2009
In a wide-ranging speech to members of the State Chamber last month, former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating articulated a vision for government management in tough times. He reviewed achievements from two terms as chief executive, including passage of the 2001 Right-to-Work referendum, the early stages of lawsuit reform and "welfare to work," the push for greater rigor in educational standards, and efforts to encourage marriage initiatives through churches and synagogues. Read More >
Give Tax Breaks to Buy Health Insurance, OCPA Author Urges Lawmakers
December 07, 2009
Tom Daxon, author of a 2008 OCPA study on health care reform, spoke December 3 at an interim study at the state capitol on the feasibility of individual health-insurance tax relief. Read More >
Three Simple Truths for the Freedom Fighters of Tomorrow
December 07, 2009
By Jeff Sandefer

The following is adapted from a speech given at the 2009 annual meeting of the State Policy Network, an umbrella organization of free-market think tanks.

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A Season of Gratefulness
December 07, 2009
By Brett A. Magbee

From Thanksgiving through Christmas a sense of gratefulness sets into our hearts-thoughts of loved ones and caring friends and good neighbors. In a broader sense, it includes the national heroes and heroines in the pages of our history books and the remembrances of sacrifices they have made. Our Founding Fathers come to mind for crafting a Constitution which provides the freedoms we enjoy. Then there are the men and women in uniform today who defend our freedoms in faraway lands as well as here at home.

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Quote/Unquote
December 07, 2009
"When 40 percent of college students fail to graduate in six years, and when about a quarter of employed college graduates have jobs that don't require degrees, it's obvious we're pushing too many kids into higher education."
National Review associate editor Robert VerBruggen Read More >

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