February 2004 Volume 11 Number 2

A Closer Look at the Lottery

February 01, 2004

Governor Brad Henry campaigned on a pledge to create a state lottery as a means of increasing revenue without resorting to higher taxes. The governor has estimated an Oklahoma lottery could raise $300 million which could be earmarked for elementary and secondary education, though his commitment to the $300 million figure seems wobbly. "Even if it's only $50 million or $100... Read More >

Lockbox? Don't Bet On It

February 01, 2004

One of the provisions of the Oklahoma lottery would require the State Board of Equalization to annually examine the appropriations from the lottery trust fund to determine if lottery money is used to replace education funding rather than to enhance it. Attempting to prove such replacement will be an act of futility. It will be quite difficult (if not impossible) for f... Read More >

OCPA Proposes Lawsuit Reform

February 01, 2004

By now most readers are probably familiar with the infamous prospecting letter sent by a certain Oklahoma personal-injury lawyer to his colleagues in the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. The letter has now been the subject of two hard-hitting editorials in The Wall Street Journal, which called the letter "in essence an invitation for the entire national tort bar to... Read More >

Parent of Special-Needs Child Wants School Choice

February 01, 2004

My wife and I never thought we would have to become education-policy and legal experts in order to educate our daughter with special needs, but that's the case in the current public school atmosphere. We are presented with one option: become education-policy and legal experts or our child fails to get her educational needs met. We cannot count on the state to look after th... Read More >

Don?t Raise Taxes ? Cut the Fat

February 01, 2004

In May of last year, when the 2003 legislative session was coming to a close, one left-leaning state senator told The Oklahoman, ?Those who want smaller ;vernment, well they?ve ;tten it. There?s no fat. It?s through the muscle and we?re sawing on the bone.? Anyone who honestly believes ?there?s no fat? in Oklahoma ;vernment needs to read the Oklahoma Piglet Book, released... Read More >

Oklahoma Income Tax Hinders Growth

February 01, 2004

Oklahoma has been known to struggle with slow economic growth and with roller-coaster variability in state income tax revenue. In a study we did for OCPA in December, we found that Oklahoma's highly progressive state income tax is a factor in both of these problems. By reforming the tax to make it less progressive - specifically, by lowering and compressing tax rates - Okl... Read More >

It?s Not ?Bashing? ? We Have a Real Problem Here

February 01, 2004

Many in the public school establishment, especially those speaking for the two major teacher unions, repeatedly accuse school choice advocates of ?bashing? the public schools. That accusation itself is a form of ?bashing? ? a resort to name-calling rather than an appeal based on facts. Are we critical of much that occurs in public schools? You bet. And some of us have spe... Read More >

Will Legislators Keep Their Word?

February 01, 2004

With some politicians and special-interest groups at the state capitol pushing for tax increases, Oklahoma taxpayers are fortunate that many state legislators have promised not to raise taxes. Many have signed the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge," sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform (atr.org), promising to "oppose (and vote against/veto) any and all efforts to increase taxes... Read More >

Sign Points to Future

February 01, 2004

A newly installed construction-project sign on the northwest corner of Lincoln and NE 13th in Oklahoma City points to the start of the renovation of OCPA's new headquarters. The wood sign features a rendering of the renovation project that travelers on Lincoln Boulevard can easily spot as they enter or exit the Capitol Park area. It's an exciting time for OCPA and the culm... Read More >

Quote Unquote

February 01, 2004

?Instead of being an independent body that could regulate and support our schools, the Illinois State Board of Education is like an old, Soviet-style bureaucracy. It?s clunky and inefficient, it issues mandates, it spends money, it dictates policy and it isn?t accountable to anyone for anything.? --Illinois ;v. Rod Bla;jevich, in his State of the State address last month. ... Read More >

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