Tax-elimination talk ignores huge state needs

Emily — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:54:00 -0600

Original at: http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=65&articleid=20120107_65_A19_CUTLIN823321

By DAVID BLATT

Babies excluded from new insurance program (Tulsa World, January 6, 2012)

Emily — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:45:56 -0600

Original at: http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=61&articleid=20120106_61_A16_Frsael421567

By World's Editorial Writers

For state leaders who supposedly are staunchly pro-family, they have a funny way of showing it.

Coalition being formed to safeguard state services' funding (Tulsa World, January 4, 2012)

Emily — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:40:00 -0600

Original at: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=336&articleid=20120104_16_A11_ULNSbw423597

By BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau

OKLAHOMA CITY - A coalition is forming to support adequate funding of public services in light of talks at the Capitol about cutting taxes used to fund government.

The Oklahoma Policy Institute is leading the effort.

Treasurer: State economy moving faster than nation's (Edmond Sun, January 4, 2012)

Emily — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:36:54 -0600

Original at: http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x1750837215/Treasurer-State-economy-moving-faster-than-nation-s

By James Coburn

EDMOND — Consumer confidence continues to rise in Oklahoma with the fourth-lowest unemployment rate in the U.S., Treasurer Ken Miller said Wednesday at the state Capitol.

“We added jobs at 3.5 times faster than the national average for the year,” Miller said.

Gap grows for income of whites, nonwhites (Tulsa World, January 2, 2012)

Emily — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:21:58 -0600

Original at: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120102_11_A1_Theinc511853

By CURTIS KILLMAN World Staff Writer

Black, American Indian and Hispanic households all lost ground to white households in median incomes, Census figures show.

One observer said the trend is indicative of the poor economy hitting minorities harder than the white population.

Race and Joblessness (Oklahoma Gazette, December 7, 2011)

Emily — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:42:29 -0600

Original at: http://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-13783-race-and-joblessness.html

By Kate Richey

The job market in Oklahoma is considerably better than in most other states, but its employment situation remains bleak for African-Americans. The unemployment rate for black workers in Oklahoma City last year was nearly 13 percent, almost double the rate for the city’s white workers.

Annual Percentage Robbery: Oklahoma leads the way in high-rate payday lenders (Urban Tulsa Weekly, December 7, 2011)

Emily — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:34:48 -0600

Original at: http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=44950

BY ARNOLD HAMILTON

Imagine you lived in a world where nearly one in five of your neighbors are so desperate for cash that they willingly take out loans that impose interest rates of between 200 and 500 percent.

Imagine you lived in a world where nearly four in 10 of your neighbors rely almost exclusively on high-cost check-cashing centers for routine banking services.

Point-counterpoint: Ending personal income tax (NewsOK December 4, 2011)

Emily — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:21:05 -0600

Original at: http://newsok.com/point-counterpoint-ending-personal-income-tax/article/3629294?custom_click=pod_headline_politics

David Blatt, director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, and Michael Carnuccio, president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, debate ending state personal income tax.

Momentum building to eliminate Oklahoma's personal income tax (NewsOK, December 4, 2011)

Emily — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:02:28 -0600

Original at: http://newsok.com/momentum-building-to-eliminate-oklahomas-personal-income-tax/article/3629293?custom_click=pod_headline_politics

BY MICHAEL MCNUTT

With Republicans firmly in control of state government, reducing and possibly eliminating Oklahoma's personal income tax is moving toward reality.

Oklahoma's tax credit system: Could be worse, national study shows (The Journal Record, December 14, 2011)

Emily — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:50:26 -0600

Original at: http://journalrecord.com/23rd-and-Lincoln/2011/12/14/oklahoma%E2%80%99s-tax-credit-system-could-be-worse-national-study-shows/

By Marie Price

Some of Oklahoma’s economic development tax credits have taken a public licking this interim, particularly those that do not create jobs or demonstrate other clear evidence that they are doing some public good.