- by Oklahoma Watch: - Warren Vieth & Mark Lash are reporting that the Legislature rushed through a late bill to kill subsidies to working poor families, but decided that 'corporate welfare' is fine. Even corporations who employed no Oklahomans, paid no taxes, or reported any income, would be eligible for government money payouts of tax dollars paid in by families of modest incomes. In the late night hours of late May, the legislature killed any state funds being sent to struggling poor families who are trying to get off welfare and return to self-reliance. This modest program(Earned Income Credit) was designed by former governor, Frank Keating, as a way to ease the process of weaning single working parents off of TANF, Medicaid, 'food stamps', and other much more costly welfare programs. It encourages single parents to reenter the workforce as their young children go to school. |
"An Oklahoma Watch analysis shows that subsidies doled out to businesses with no income tax liability easily exceed the $29 million the state has been paying to working families who owe no income taxes. Last year, for example, operators of “wind farm” generating plants alone received $45 million in cash refunds. An effort to end those subsidies was rejected by lawmakers. “We’re paying businesses that are making negative profits,” said University of Oklahoma economics professor Cynthia Rogers, who was recently appointed to serve on a newly created state Incentive Evaluation Commission. “They have a negative, and we’re offsetting it,” Rogers said. “You could argue that if we don’t want to give refunds, we shouldn’t give them anywhere.” Read their full report, here... |