Back in 2014, Harold Hamm, Larry Nichols, and Doug Lawler instructed the elected officials they control to lower Oklahoma's gross production taxes on oil and gas wells to 2%, as opposed to the 7% rate they were traditionally charged. The trio did this because they're our oil industry overlords and know what's best for their corporations and out-of-state shareholders.
When their plan was initially released and promoted in The Oklahoman, only two people seemed to publicly come out against it – Patrick Riley and George Kaiser. Here's what I said when the plan was announced: