Number of the Week
9.9 percent
Percentage of income paid in state and local taxes by the bottom 20 percent of earners in Oklahoma, compared to 4.8 percent paid by the top 1 percent of earners.
Source: ITEP via Oklahoma Policy Institute
Quote of the Week
“This is not 1921 Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is 2012. We stand together.”
Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, senior minister at All Souls Unitarian Church, on the community’s response to five random shootings of African-Americans Friday night
Chart of the Week
OK Policy Note
The Graduation Gap: Many minority students attend, but don’t complete college
The share of Oklahomans with a college education has lagged behind the national average for decades and in the last twenty years we’ve fallen even further behind. Partly to blame is our lackluster college completion record. Oklahoma has one of the lowest college graduation rates in the nation, with less than half (44.1 percent) of our enrolled students completing a degree within six years. College completion rates for students of color in the state are particularly low, despite the fact that in recent years enrollment in higher education across race/ethnicity has seen dramatic improvement. With the exception of Hispanic students, enrollment in public and private colleges and universities across the state is reflective of Oklahoma’s demographics. Click here to continue reading.