February 2006 Volume 13 Number 2

A Fix for Oklahoma's Roads and Bridges

February 01, 2006

There's been a lot of talk lately about the poor condition of Oklahoma's roads and bridges. This article offers two solutions to the problem, neither one of which requires a tax increase. The Oklahoma State Department of Transportation (ODOT) is charged with "the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of Oklahoma's state and federal transportation infra... Read More >

Invest in Human Capital: Cut Taxes

February 01, 2006

Some leaders are seeing the value of enacting a tax credit for stay-at-home parents. Read More >

Help Parents Spend More Time with Their Children, Survey Says

February 01, 2006

A new statewide survey of Oklahoma voters shows strong support for letting parents keep more of the money they earn so they can spend more time raising their children. The survey, commissioned by OCPA and conducted by Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates, asked the following: "Assuming there is a limited amount of money, which is more important?" (Rotate) Havin... Read More >

Economic Freedom in Rome: Lessons for America?

February 01, 2006

Rome of the Caesars and the United States today are the only two absolute superpowers that have existed in history. By an absolute superpower I mean a nation that is dominant militarily, politically, economically, and culturally. The United States is absolutely dominant militarily, politically, economically, and we dominate the world culturally. We may never pr... Read More >

In Praise of Wal-Mart

February 01, 2006

Hatred for Wal-Mart is being stoked again with the release of a new documentary film entitled Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. Economist Mickey Hepner makes the unpopular case that Wal-Mart is good for America. Read More >

In Praise of Oil Companies

February 01, 2006

To begin at somewhere near the end, I am at a gas station in the small town of Calimesa in the high desert between Beverly Hills and Rancho Mirage. It's late at night, maybe 10 p.m., and it's cold. My wife and I are getting gasoline to put in our old Caddy and complete the drive home to make sure our son goes to school tomorrow. As I pay the kindly attendant, Georg... Read More >

'Inadequate' School Funding? That's a Cop Out

February 01, 2006

Thomas Sowell is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow in Public Policy at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He writes on economics, history, social policy, ethnicity, and the history of ideas. Sowell grants very few interviews, but in 2002 he graciously agreed to an e-mail exchange with Perspective editor Brandon Dutcher. In light of the ?adequacy?... Read More >

Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Merit-Pay Basket

February 01, 2006

Some state legislators are calling for increased bonuses for Oklahoma schoolteachers who have earned national board certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). "We want to reward those teachers who are nationally board certified and this plan for merit pay is an objective criteria for measuring," says state Senator Stratton T... Read More >

'Ridiculous' Lawsuit Could Backfire

February 01, 2006

All Oklahoma taxpayers should be OUTRAGED at the ridiculous lawsuit filed by the teachers' union and some school districts against the state, alleging that Oklahoma does not adequately fund education. Effectively, the lawsuit seeks to go outside the elected representatives of the people and instead go to unelected Judges to force a tax increase. Oklahoma already s... Read More >

OCPA Sets Fast Pace for 2006

February 01, 2006

It's February and big-government proponents are busy wheeling and dealing. That's why we are more determined than ever to get free-market ideas into the public policy arena. You probably have noticed the flurry of OCPA appearances on television and in commentaries in your local newspaper. It's because the staff, under the leadership of OCPA president Mark Nichols, is... Read More >

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