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Oklahoma cut income tax and is now broke
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Oklahoma cut income tax and is now broke
https://apnews.com/7d949932061e47fe8f42c4d13fcf5e9c/Oklahoma-struggles-to-pay-for-schools-after-slashing-taxes
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Four years ago, Oklahoma's oil patch was booming, unemployment was falling and state lawmakers were debating what to do with $200 million in surplus revenue.
Republicans who control state government successfully pushed to permanently reduce the state's top income tax rate, slash the oil and gas production tax rate from 7 percent to 2 percent and give more tax incentives to industry.
But the boom ended and the money dried up. Now unwavering confidence in the wisdom of lower taxes has given way to a growing panic over how to pay for basic services such as schools, health care and public safety. Revenue has fallen about 20 percent short of budgeted needs for the third year in a row.
The situation has deteriorated to the point where highway patrol troopers have been warned not to fill their fuel tanks, and drunken drivers have been able to keep their licenses because there are not enough administrative workers to revoke their driving privileges. Nearly 100 of the state's 513 school districts have moved to four-day weeks.
Oklahoma's woes are intensifying just as President Donald Trump's administration proposes its own ambitious plan to slash corporate and personal taxes. The White House insists the overhaul will spur economic growth and bring prosperity to the middle class, but the idea alarms lawmakers worried about the risk of ballooning federal deficits.
State lawmakers have already tried cutting the budget. Overall, last year's inflation-adjusted budget of $6.9 billion was 11 percent less than 2009, according to a recent analysis.
Still, the spending cuts so far have not been enough to close a projected $900 million gap. Lawmakers are weighing drastic steps such as reducing Medicaid payments, which officials say could cause hundreds of nursing homes to close
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"There's been this persistent argument that if we cut taxes, the economy will grow enough to make up for the lost revenue, and it just simply doesn't happen," said economist Mickey Hepner, the dean of the University of Central Oklahoma's College of Business.
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Wow, cutting taxes for the wealthy didn't work in the past, and it's proven again to not work now.... but I'm sure it will work perfectly for the country as a whole, for some unknown reason.
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Posted 4/27/17 2:15 PM  |
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oneday
<3
Member since 5/05 4319 total posts
Name:
Pam
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Re: Oklahoma cut income tax and is now broke
Are you kidding? It's going to be great! It's going to be TREMENDOUS! Why won't you just "trust" him?
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| Posted 4/28/17 9:29 AM |
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Hofstra26
Love to Bake!
Member since 7/06 27915 total posts
Name:
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Re: Oklahoma cut income tax and is now broke
Posted by oneday
Are you kidding? It's going to be great! It's going to be TREMENDOUS! Why won't you just "trust" him?
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| Posted 4/28/17 9:38 AM |
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JennP
LIF Adult
Member since 10/06 3986 total posts
Name:
Jenn
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Re: Oklahoma cut income tax and is now broke
He is really going to do a number on this country.
I had been positive for a while (the resistance is strong, he'll fall eventually, etc.) but it's getting depressing again.
I wish only the people who voted for him had to be affected by his policies.
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| Posted 4/28/17 10:11 AM |
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GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!
Member since 11/06 26792 total posts
Name:
Shawn
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Re: Oklahoma cut income tax and is now broke
Posted by JennP
He is really going to do a number on this country.
I had been positive for a while (the resistance is strong, he'll fall eventually, etc.) but it's getting depressing again.
I wish only the people who voted for him had to be affected by his policies.
Unfortunately, many of the policies he wants to implement will affect all of us. My only hope is that I can survive whatever catastrophic plans he manages to pass. I probably will be able to, but many people (both his supports and his opponents) won't be able to. 
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| Posted 4/28/17 10:21 AM |
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