March 2004 Volume 11 Number 3

Governor's Health Care Plan: Very Bad

March 01, 2004

In the book Oklahoma Policy Blueprint, published by OCPA in 2002, health-care expert Merrill Matthews, Jr. pointed out that "since the creation of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority in 1994, the state has been flirting with a Clinton-style health care system that has disrupted patients, health care providers, and the state budget. Oklahoma is now at a crossroads in healt... Read More >

Governor's Lawsuit Reform Plan: Very Good

March 01, 2004

On January 30 Governor Brad Henry unveiled what he called "the most sweeping, comprehensive tort reform package in the nation." Business leaders and doctors have praised Henry for his "courage and leadership" on the issue, whereas Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association president Tony Laizure pronounced the plan "the worst piece of legislation ever introduced in the state of... Read More >

Couple Won't Take What's 'Not Rightfully Ours'

March 01, 2004

Recently I spoke to a women's group in Logan County on the topic of Medicaid. In the course of my talk I mentioned how the costs of the uninsured are borne by all of the insured. After my presentation a young woman, Raleah Murphey, approached me and expressed her concern that her family's inability to afford insurance was imposing a burden on everyone else. In talkin... Read More >

Empower Patients, Not Bureaucrats

March 01, 2004

Governor Brad Henry wants the legislature, and voters, to approve a tax increase on tobacco. The money, he says, would go to extend health insurance and Medicaid coverage to the uninsured poor. OCPA has argued elsewhere that hiking the tobacco tax is a bad idea. But let's look at the spending side of the governor's health-care plan. So far, the debate has focused on ho... Read More >

School Choice Frees Parents from Two-Income Trap

March 01, 2004

They say that when looking for a new home, the three rules are "location, location, location." But Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren believes that should be changed to "schools, schools, schools." In their new book, The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke, Professor Warren and her daughter Amelia Warren Tyagi set out to explain wh... Read More >

Eliminate the Parenthood Penalty

March 01, 2004

Maggie Gallagher, an author and columnist who writes widely on marriage, observes that those who endorse homosexual marriage are essentially admitting, "Marriage is whatever the adults want. People have a right to conduct a great social experiment on children because, well, adults want to do it, and doing your own thing is the new law of the land." Well said, but for se... Read More >

School Boards Should Embrace Charter Schools

March 01, 2004

A dozen years ago there wasn't a charter school in the United States. Today there are more than 2,700 charter schools enrolling over 700,000 students. Only ten states do not have a charter school law. Clearly an unstoppable movement is underway. Despite this, most school boards oppose such schools. With some exceptions, school boards do not recognize the value a meanin... Read More >

Renovation Plans Unveiled

March 01, 2004

As OCPA busily works to advance ideas of free enterprise, limited government, and individual initiative, another effort by staff is also underway. That activity is planning a new policy headquarters on Lincoln Boulevard which will equip the organization to increase it's work and activities. This is the fruition of our Capitol Freedom Fund which no doubt you have already he... Read More >

Quote Unquote

March 01, 2004

?The greatest threat that this country faces is the potential linkage of terrorism and real bad weapons. When I was growing up in Midland, Texas, I was free to do whatever I wanted. And I?ll be damned if we?re ;ing to sit back and let something from across our shores change that for our grandchildren.? --Gen. Tommy Franks ?I?ve always found it a little odd that liberals h... Read More >

March 2004 Perspective PDF

March 01, 2004

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