Oklahoma Schools, Colleges Deserve Major Funding Boost

(It is time we raise the minimum wage in this state to help out students and those with low wages. Read DocHoc's commentary, "Creating opportunities for everyone" in this week's Oklahoma Gazette.)

Legislature Could Make Real Difference

The Oklahoma Legislature has an historic opportunity to boost funding for education this year, but a proposed tax cut may mean the state will continue to lag behind the nation in maintaining its educational systems.

With nearly $1 billion in surplus revenue, legislators, for once, can make a real difference in the lives of ordinary Oklahomans.

The Alliance for Oklahoma’s Future is calling on citizens to contact their legislators on Tuesday, May 16 to fight against a proposed, massive tax cut that primarily benefits the wealthy and leaves schools and universities underfunded.

In a recent letter to the legislature, the alliance urged lawmakers to put Oklahoma first: “It means taking care of our crumbling roads and bridges and paying our teachers a competitive salary. It means taking care of our higher education system so that Oklahoma students are able to afford college tuition and we can produce graduates trained to compete in the global economy. It means making strategic investments in research to secure our state’s economic future. It means taking care of our health care system by providing access to affordable care and offering adequate reimbursement to providers. Investing in education, research, health care and public infrastructure is the surest path to sustainable economic growth and prosperity for Oklahoma.”

The alliance points out the state currently ranks 49th in the nation in teacher salaries. Meanwhile, our college students have seen an 82% increase in college tuition over the last six years. Per pupil spending remains low compared to national averages. Our state retirement systems, including the Teacher's Retirement System of Oklahoma, remain chronically underfunded.

A senate bill proposes to reduce the income tax rate from 6.25% to 4.9%. The alliance shows how middle-class taxpayers will receive token tax cuts while the richest one percent in the state will get a massive tax break if the bill is passed.

Money pooled together and used appropriately and efficiently saves ordinary Oklahomans much more in the long run. The proposed tax cut would erode our funding base and leave us vulnerable in economic downturns while rich corporate executives and owners laugh all the way to the bank.

Oklahoma Legalizes Tats

The unsung heroes over the battle to get tattoos legalized here are those individual artists who stood up against an archaic law that made the state seem provincial and weird. They should be commended for their grassroots efforts and their courage.

Governor Brad Henry signed the bill into law last week that finally legalized tattoos here. Oklahoma was the last state in the nation to do so. The state even received national coverage from CNN when it finally passed the law. The tattoo bill was a rational and logical measure passed in a legislature session often focused and polarized on religious intrusion issues, such as intelligent design.

Tattoo studios will add greatly to our creative culture here.

Conservative Talking Points

With President George Bush’s approval rating slipping below 30 percent, you would think conservatives might start listening to the concerns of the country's citizens, but, no, you see, it is all the fault of the mythical Angry Left.

Republicans were on the airwaves last week with their latest talking points. Here it is: Demonize Democrats and progressive for standing up for what is right. Call them the Angry Left, and then dismiss their concerns because, well, because they are angry. And angry is bad, right? Angry is terrible. Angry is a no no.

Of course, the conservatives fail to mention how right-wing hate radio has polarized this country over the last ten years or so or how vicious pundits like Ann Coulter continue to spew on Fox News. But then angry is good when it comes from the right.

The left has every right to be angry. The country has a right-wing president who lied us into a botched and immoral war, sanctioned the torture of prisoners in American custody, and ordered illegal wiretapping of American citizens. Meanwhile new information emerges almost daily on how the federal government has gone through our individual telephone records. Gasoline prices are skyrocketing because the federal government lacks a coherent energy policy under the imperial Bush whose policies favor big oil companies. It goes on and on.