by Byron Schlomach | Jan 18, 2021 | Blog
By one recent ranking of the fifty states and the District of Columbia, Oklahoma’s public schools come in 48th in terms of quality, a mere three spots from the very bottom. Only Arizona, Louisiana, and New Mexico have lower-quality schools than we do. The schools in...
by Brad Galbraith | Jan 13, 2021 | Blog
The riots we have seen over the past year indicate a pervasive deterioration of law and order. As a people, we must attain greater internal, moral order and return to a greater civil order founded on the rights and liberties enshrined in and protected by the United...
by Spencer Cadavero | Jan 11, 2021 | Blog
In recent years, apocalyptic predictions of climate change have been popular. As politicians and activists push their preferred policies to supposedly prevent climate change, their claims of what will happen if we do not adopt them grow more severe. One politician...
by Tyler Williamson | Jan 6, 2021 | Blog
Why must aspiring plumber contractors’ complete multiple years of education, multiple years of lower level work, and pay a hefty annual fee just to obtain a license? What justification does the state provide for these requirements? According to the Construction...
by Tyler Williamson | Jan 6, 2021 | Research
Plumber Licensing in Oklahoma Author Tyler Williamson Abstract This paper summarizes Oklahoma’s plumber licensing law and evaluates whether there is any public interest justification for it. None is found. In fact, the license only serves to burden consumers by...
by Mike Davis | Jan 4, 2021 | Blog
Oklahoma, like many western states, allows its citizens to directly participate in the democratic process through citizen initiatives and referendums. In a referendum, the legislature directs a question to the people — usually to modify the state constitution, since...
by Byron Schlomach | Dec 23, 2020 | Blog
I think the movie, Elf, is pretty hilarious. Will Ferrell’s “Buddy” character marching off to New York from the North Pole, enjoying syrup (actually whiskey) in coffee, eating cotton balls, outing a fake Santa, and sleeping in a store’s window display carry a lot of...
by Mike Davis | Dec 21, 2020 | Blog
Competition is as American as baseball and apple pie. “May the best man win” is a sentiment so old it doesn’t care about your pronouns. The beneficial effects of competition on economic markets are well documented. So why do we let powerful business interests change...
by Mike Davis | Dec 20, 2020 | Research
The Inadequacy of Attorney General Oversight as a Guard against Antitrust Liability of Oklahoma Licensing Boards Author Mike Davis Abstract This paper argues that Oklahoma’s approach to protecting state licensing boards from federal antitrust liability is inadequate...
by Brad Galbraith | Dec 16, 2020 | Blog
In a recent post, 1889 Institute expounded on the fiduciary duty of elected officials “to act in the best interest of the people of the state as a whole,” a “high duty, executed as a public trust … wherein one puts the people’s interest above one’s own.” This...
