The Oklahoman may be under new ownership, but the paper's mission to use its editorial page to mislead and misinform its few remaining subscribers remains as strong as ever.
With the Governor's race a dead heat, and Drew Edmondson already proposing to raise the GPT back to 7% to help fund our state's crumbling education system, The Oklahoman published an editorial from a Texan named Chris Hosek on Saturday. It "thanked" the Oklahoma legislature for raising our state's gross production tax from 2% to 5% during the last legislative session and, as he puts it, "drive business and capital dollars away from your state down to us in Texas."
Check it out:
Point of View: A Texan's thank you to Oklahoma
I want to start by saying sorry. I should have said “thank you” sooner, but as you can imagine, we are pretty busy down here in Texas. I wanted to thank you for passing one of the largest tax increases in your state's history, which will land almost entirely on the back of the oil and gas industry...
I know it may seem odd for someone from Texas to thank the Oklahoma Legislature, but let me explain. I thought passing a tax increase was an interesting move, considering how that industry is truly the backbone of your economy. I thank you because it will drive business and capital dollars away from your state down to us in Texas. I can't think of a better marketing campaign for my own business. As the saying goes, Texas is wide open for business...
I know Texans are an arrogant bunch, but if Oklahoma really passed a law that drives business across the Red River, don't you think they would keep that info to themselves and enjoy the riches? Why celebrate it by writing a letter to Oklahoma's largest newspaper during OU - Texas week? This would be like Bill Anoatubby writing an editorial to the Dallas Morning News thanking Texas for not legalizing casino gambling.