All I have heard in the reporting on the teacher pay issue is the need for more money. The need for more money by this state is about all I have heard for the last several years. Why doesn’t anyone ask and find the answers to just a few questions that nobody appears to be asking that should be obvious?
Why is this state always broke?
What is the total tax revenue by type in this state in dollars, per capita and as a percent of gross state product?
Does the state really need more money or does it need to use the money it has more effectively?
How does revenue in Oklahoma compare to other states that are actually doing pretty well?
Where does the money get spent and how do these expenses by type compare to other states?
If the need for more money is justified the state needs to bring the need to the people and let them decide if they need to provide more money for a better state. However, the state needs to prove they are doing just as well or better in managing the money of the people than any other state is before they demand more money from the people.
Not just for Oklahoma but why does it take nearly 10 cents on the dollar for state and local sales taxes to run things when 50 to 60 years ago it took a mere 3 cents. Even inflation adjusted this is a 300% increase in taxes.
One glaring example of how poorly the state uses money; why does this state rank near dead last in the effective use of highway dollars in the measure of on time and on budget road projects when compared to a 27 state survey of department of transportation effectiveness? Arkansas ranked in the top five in effective use of highway dollars in the 27 state survey as I recall. Arkansas. The amount of money spent per mile of road in Oklahoma is at least comparable to any of the competing states.
Why is it like crossing a state wide speed bump when coming into Oklahoma from just about any neighboring state?
Why does it cost 16 bucks to cross the state on toll roads that have been paid for ages ago that are mostly rough as a wash board?
Roads are not just maintained poorly, they are neglected. The intersection at US 64 and I-40 has been the same minefield of tilted slabs, pot holes and drop offs for more then 40 years! The reckless management of public property is everywhere? Why?
Why is it that almost no road built in this state holds up more than a few years? Could it be poor or no inspection or holding to standards?
I grew up in a nice Oklahoma town nearly 60 years ago. Somehow we managed to have decent State Parks, Schools, roads, police and fire service and other essentials on far less percentage of sales and probably income though I did not pay property or income taxes then but I never recall any complaints by anyone about them. I surely don’t recall feeling deprived of anything.
We had a nice grade school that I attended. Somehow it managed to run like a well oiled machine with ONE principal, ONE secretary, ONE teacher in each class room, ONE janitor and three nice ladies that worked in the cafeteria. As I recall we had about 500 students and being Boomer Generation times the classes were packed with 30 or more students per class. I gently suggest Oklahoma might look at how many people outside the classroom it now takes to teach children.
If a company is going to survive and then thrive in business it can’t live and set its prices and standards in isolation. It has to bench mark and compete. This state needs to do the same. Few politicians represent the interests of the sheeple by managing their money instead most manage the people’s money as their own for their own interests. Politicians also do not understand that they are there to supervise the bureaucrats in the way they manage the money of the people otherwise they will feather their own nests.
There are four things I hate and any of them will put me in orbit: Lying, Cheating, Unreliable and Excuses. All I have heard from this state are excuses about why we are so far at the back of the pack and all the excuses end with “NEED MORE MONEY”. We all make due with what we have and the state needs to make due with the same percentage of what we have that they are getting.
As we crossed the state line coming home the other day we saw the sign that said: “Oklahoma! Discover the excellence!” My wife quipped, “Good luck.” That certainly seems appropriate.
You ought to send that to the Daily Oklahoman........
Well stated, and spot-on. I’ve lived in Edmond for 35 years. Great town with excellent police and infrastructure. The muslims and associated goobers are closely supervised. The schools are reportedly the best in the state, or so the town fathers claim. The dumbass apartment dwellers that moved here for the schools, (don’t pay property taxes) repeatedly vote for property tax increases for school “Improvements”. The last fiasco concerned a bond issue to construct a football stadium with digital scoreboards at each of the three high schools....but the roads in Edmond are terrible....misplaced priorities.
Mary Fallin is an excellent Governor...it’s the worthless state legislators that need to pay attention. Until they get their priorities straight, the “Crossroads of America” will be strewn with potholes.
When I lived there 35 or 40 years ago Empire Construction built most of their concrete highways. They are required to saw the concrete every 20 or 30 feet and that causes the bumpity, bump, bump. The highways become smooth when they have to blacktop over them.