The Oklahoman Editorial

In the think tank domain, Oklahoma has a new kid on the block but it's not kidding about its mission.

That would include transforming the state into one in which kids are healthy, their parents are prosperous and the population is well-educated.

On those goals, virtually everyone would agree with the new Oklahoma Policy Institute. But not everything the organization advocates will find favor with average Oklahomans, especially the more conservative ones.

Oklahoma Policy Institute was founded with money from national foundations whose mission statements place them at left of center in the political spectrum. The institute will be that way as well on some issues, especially taxation.

The new think tank will offer a contrast to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a conservative group that ranks among the most influential in the state in terms of setting policy. Organizers of the Oklahoma Policy Institute say they have some common ground with the OCPA. When these two groups reach a consensus on a policy matter, watch out! What's sure to follow is action that speaks louder than the words in a policy paper.

The institute's staff includes one of the finest fiscal minds in Oklahoma, budget analyst David Blatt, formerly with Tulsa's Community Action Project, an anti-poverty group. The think tank will continue that group's work on "closing the widening inequalities of income between the wealthiest and poorest households."

We don't share Blatt's dim view of recent income tax cuts in Oklahoma, but we do share his determination to make Oklahoma a wealthier, healthier state in which all citizens experience well-being.

Oklahoma Policy Institute has a bipartisan board of directors with impressive credentials, including former U.S. Rep. Brad Carson, former state Treasurer Robert Butkin and Nance Diamond, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 1994.

Blatt and his associates will bring knowledge and commitment to the policy table. The state will be better off for it.

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