OCPA Fallin State of the State; Bloggers Organized for Oklahoma Taxpayers

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin delivered her final State of the State address to the Oklahoma Legislature today. Unfortunately, she did not use the occasion to announce her resignation. Instead she endorsed a series of of tax increases that are being pushed by a group of well-funded tax-consuming entities.

Jonathan Small, president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, the state's leading free-market think-tank, issued this reaction to Fallin's speech:

Working Oklahomans are clawing out of the economic downturn. The budget gap has dramatically shrunk to less than $200 million. The most important thing for policymakers is to not increase in any form or fashion the personal income tax on Oklahomans. Lawmakers should also be wary of the impact their policy decisions may have on lower-income and middle-income Oklahoma families.

This session provides the Governor and lawmakers the opportunity to fulfill their campaign promises: to right-size state government (which is near all-time highs) and reform government structures. Medicaid enrollment audits, TSET reforms, ending Oklahoma's Hollywood and film production boondoggle that paid millions to Harvey Weinstein, ending crony capitalism to out-of-state wind energy companies and tribes selling tobacco, and initiation of performance and process improvement audits at every single state agency-all of these are better than simply raising taxes on Oklahomans. Pursuing these reforms will generate the savings and revenue needed to give every classroom teacher a $5,000 a year raise and protect Oklahomans.

You'll find discussions of many of these issues on the OCPA's blog.

Speaking of blogs, I've joined up with other conservative Oklahoma bloggers to call on our legislators to maintain the protections provided by SQ 640, which requires a vote of the people for most tax increases. We've seen too many examples recently of money wasted, fraudulently handled, spent on duplicative functions, or squandered on ineffective tax credits. Legislators should be putting the squeeze on bad management and bad policy in the state bureaucracy, not on Oklahoma taxpayers. While paid lobbyists will push to protect the tax-eaters at the State Capitol, Bloggers Organized for Oklahoma Taxpayers will be working to amplify the voice of the taxpayer in the ears of our elected officials.

Bloggers Organized for Oklahoma Taxpayers is a grassroots network of bloggers and writers dedicated to defending Oklahoma taxpayers against the onslaught of higher taxes and "reforms" that would strip taxpayer protections from the Oklahoma Constitution.

We pledge to be the voice for the working-class majority in Oklahoma who don't have lobbyists at the Capitol to counter the access of the powerful and influential who seek to undermine the consent of the governed.

While the mainstream media in this state pushes oligarchy-style schemes to make it easier for government to take more of Oklahomans' hard earned income, we will fight to stop these economically detrimental plans.

From articulating arguments against these ideas, to publishing important information and supporting elected officials who are defending the People, we plan to answer the call to defend Oklahoma taxpayers.

Stay tuned for more from BOOT as the legislative session unfolds.