CORY DOCTOROW / 10:39 AM MON MAR 19, 2018
Oklahoma
spent eight years under full GOP rule, with Republicans controlling the
governorship and the legislature, passing a fully ALEC-compliant slate of laws
that benefited the wealthy at the expense of the poor; the result has been a
catastrophe for the party's fortunes in Oklahoma, to say nothing of a
catastrophe for Oklahomans, whose schools are running four day weeks so teachers
can made ends meet by getting a day's work at Walmart (no wonder they're on the
verge of striking); while Republican lawmakers have run amok, introducing bills
demanding that creationism be taught in schools; or that protesters be
bankrupted for peaceful assembly; and making the state a haven for forced-labor
camps masquerading as drug rehab centers.
Now
the party is in total disarray as they scramble to patch the enormous holes in
the state's budget without upsetting their friends in big business, especially
the fossil fuel industry. The "compromise" position that the least
reality-denying faction has come up with is to increase taxes on poor people,
which will leave their corporate donors intact. That isn't playing with state
Democrats, and the GOP can't pass those tax hikes without them (or without
convincing Tea Party purists to hold their noses and vote for a tax hike).
Meanwhile,
in nearby Minnesota, a suite of redistributive, semi-socialist policies have
created an economic miracle of growth and prosperity.
It's
true: reality has a well-known left-wing bias.
Although
the candidates represent different wings of the party, all of them agree about
the depth of the problem. And while none of them want to use the word “tax,”
several talk about replacing some of the revenue that has been cut in recent
years. That replacement money could scarcely come from any other source except
taxes.
The
only GOP candidate for governor who openly advocates for a tax hike is Auditor
and Inspector Gary Jones, an accountant and former chairman of the state
Republican Party. He’s been particularly critical of the Legislature’s decision
to make permanent a generous tax incentive on new oil and gas production. Fallin
signed that bill just before the price of oil plummeted in 2014. The price drop
dealt another major blow to the energy-dependent economy.
The
drilling industry now pays an effective tax rate in Oklahoma that is far lower
than in any other state, a factor cited by the teachers threatening a
strike.
“We’ve
got to face the truth,” Jones said. “We need somebody who’s willing to tell the
truth about how we got here, where we’re at and has a plan to get out.”
Source
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