Oklahoma Politicians Agree to Semi-Tolerable, Could Always Be Worse Budget Plan…

Yesterday afternoon, Governor Kevin Stitt, House and Senate leaders, and other white conservative male cogs in the Oklahoma ruling class gathered at the Capitol to announce that they actually did their job and reached a budget agreement.

As opposed to typical years, which usually involve last-minute squabbling, pouting and deal-making, this deal seems to have come together a bit more peacefully, and so far, hasn’t resulted in any resignations or late-night votes to try to avoid the public eye.

I guess that’s why they all gathered at the Capitol yesterday to hold hands and sing songs about it: 

According to the media and local political flack machine, I guess the highlight of this budget agreement is that Stitt, lawmakers and private special interest groups were able to eliminate the state’s two lowest tax brackets, and even more importantly for Republican leadership, score a significant tax cut for wealthy Oil Overlords, GOP benefactors and other members of the local ruling class.

Here’s how the monkeys in the Governor's PR department spun it:

Today, Governor Kevin Stitt, Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, and House Speaker Kyle Hilbert unveiled a comprehensive agreement aimed at cutting taxes, investing in key infrastructure, and strengthening Oklahoma’s business-friendly climate.

The agreement includes a quarter-point tax cut to the state income tax, a consolidation of income tax brackets and a true path to zero income tax, ensuring that Oklahoma stays competitive with surrounding states.

Yep, that’s right! Great news, rich folks! You’re getting a shiny little quarter-point tax cut—one that will overwhelmingly benefit you far more than the average Oklahoman scraping by on a modest $63,000 a year. That's totally fair and equitable, right? I’m sure you’ll use all that extra cash to create jobs, fund non-profits, and invest in your communities—not just hoard it in brokerage accounts, real estate and trust funds and watch it multiply on autopilot. That would never happen.

Naturally, Oklahoma Democratic leadership weren’t big fans of the tax cuts – these rebels think we should use tax revenue to fund already cash-strapped state services that benefit our citizens – but their bigger gripe was that they’re a toothless superminority that was left out of the entire press conference.

While Republican lawmakers are excited about the deal, Senate Democrats say they weren't part of the discussion.

"The most disappointing part is that we are willing to work on solutions. We always do work on bipartisan solutions, but are we at the table in the final [discussion]? No. We're deeply concerned. Definitely concerned about transparency. We did not get details about this budget before this announcement was made. We actually still don't have details."

Instead of complaining about being left out of the process, I think Democrats should call for even larger tax cuts and call out Stitt and others for not doing more. Hell, maybe they should call for private school tax vouchers, too. Sure, that may go against their platform, but maybe it will help Democrats win elections and get a small seat at the corner of the table.

Lowering taxes for the wealthy wasn’t the only big news to come out of the budget agreement. Stitt and company also lauded some other big accomplishments that will benefit Oklahoma business leaders and other elites

Cool stuff! When I’m staying up late at night thinking about how we can make this state better, the first thing that pops into my head is to create a robust business court system, while also limiting the amount of damages a citizen can recover if they are negligently harmed by a person or business. That will definitely help the average Oklahoman.

Although the budget only helps the wealthy and elites, and will likely lead to a future trademarked Oklahoma budget crisis in a couple of years, I think it’s actually semi-tolerable and could have been way worse and detrimental for the state.

For example, should an underfunded state be passing tax cuts for wealthy residents with the unproven trickle-down promise that it will benefit others? I don’t think so. But can I deal with my taxes going down a few dollars a month? I guess.

Plus, there is some actually good news to report from the budget agreement. 

For example, our lawmakers who refuse to hold Ryan Walters accountable did ignore his devout publicity-driven budget request to buy $3 million worth of Bibles for Oklahoma classrooms.

Instead, they’re going to use that money to fund tutoring:

That’s nice. Four out of five dentists agree that tutors help improve test scores more than ancient religious texts, so it’s nice to see lawmakers listening to real experts for once. 

Anyway, I guess we’ll keep an eye on the budget as it slogs its way through the Capitol’s political machine. Everything seems like smooth sailing from here, but then again, Oklahoma politicians are a reliably awful and spineless bunch, so who knows, maybe they’ll find a way to screw it up. 

Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.