Speaking before a joint session of the Legislature, Fallin touched on both accomplishments over the past few years as well as some of the initiatives and measures she hopes to implement over the coming year. Among the issues she hopes to see movement on this legislative session are:• a cut of the top state income […]
Mary Fallin
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A secretive government
That’s because, she contends, they won’t give candid opinions if what they say — or at least what they put in writing — can become public through an open records request. “We want it as open and transparent as humanly possible without being disruptive to people being able to candidly and openly express their opinion […]
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Schools and after-school exercise
However, schools across Oklahoma — fearful of costly lawsuits and damage to property and the potential drain this could have to already strained budgets — have begun to lock their doors and turn out their lights after school ends each day. It’s our schoolchildren and our future that suffer because of this. Nearly 50 percent […]
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Medicaid expansion is affordable, and vital
Under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, the federal government will pay the lion’s share of the cost for Oklahoma to extend SoonerCare coverage to most uninsured low-income adults. This would provide coverage to about 150,000 residents living near the poverty level. Expanding Medicaid would cut Oklahoma County’s uninsured population nearly in half, with more […]
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Medicaid expansion is unaffordable
In like manner, I don’t recall Gov. Mary Fallin receiving open records requests from curious journalists when taxes were hiked in 2011 to prop up LBJ’s Medicaid program in Oklahoma. It was only when she decided in 2012 not to expand Medicaid that the watchdogs started barking. In any case, Gov. Fallin should be applauded […]
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Fallin fails
In 2007, Fallin voted against raising the minimum wage above $5.15 per hour, where it had been for 10 years. Then she opposed House Resolution 4, which gave Medicare authority to negotiate with drug manufacturers for lower prescription drug prices. In other words, she voted to turn pricing of our prescription drugs over to pharmaceutical […]
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Decisions of politics and compassion
We know what is causing the pain. Jane has a bad gallbladder that is full of stones — easy to fix. In the hospital Friday morning for surgery, home Friday afternoon, back at work Monday morning. Like hundreds of thousands of hardworking Oklahomans, Jane has no insurance and no way to pay for the surgery. […]
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If I were Santa ….
The biggest plus, of course, is the unbridled joy you’d be able to spread with a special sack of presents. In that giving spirit of Christmas, we asked a host of notable Oklahomans, from elected leaders to burlesque performers, sports superstars to drag queens, what they would do if they were Santa. Responses ranged from […]
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Medi-can’t
However, with Gov. Mary Fallin’s announcement last month that the state would not expand Medicaid, George will have to stick with her current plan for a while longer. That plan: Don’t get sick. “I tried with DHS (Oklahoma Department of Human Services) to get some kind of medical (insurance), but they turned me down because […]
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Oklahoma to corporations: We love you!
Credit: Brad Gregg And as failed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney taught us, “Corporations are people, my friend.” According to The New York Times, the Sooner State spends around $2.19 billion annually on corporate incentive programs. That translates to $584 for every Oklahoman going toward paying for business incentives — or 37 cents for every […]