As 2016 gets underway, the most vexing question confronting Oklahoma legislators, policymakers, and various state agency heads is...how will the Sooner State solve the glaring budget hole that Oklahomans will face this year -- and next year. State Finance Director Preston Doerflinger has declared a "revenue failure" for this year, resulting in a 3% cut to all state budgets funded by General Revenue -- and the preliminary projection of revenue for next year sees a shortfall of $900 million out of an approximately $7 billion state budget. Our guest on ST is economist David Blatt, executive director of the nonprofit Oklahoma Policy Institute; he's been warning that the state has built a structural deficit into its finances for the past few years now. Blatt offers some ideas for rebuilding the state's finances, and also tells us about an upcoming State Budget Summit -- to be hosted by his organization -- happening on Thursday, January 28th, at the Will Rogers Theater in Oklahoma City. (More details at the OK Policy website.)
David Blatt of the Oklahoma Policy Institute Describes Our State's Massive Budget Gap
