1889 Institute: Oklahoma is OK, but seriously, that's not OK

Oklahoma Is OK, but Seriously, That’s Not OK

By Byron Schlomach

The Americans at the table, negotiating a business deal, ask one of their number, “You can speak Dutch?” He replies, “I’m OK.” He proceeds to tell the Dutch that the Americans really need a hug when he was supposed to say they really need the deal. As one of the Dutch negotiators gives an American a hug, the AT&T commercial ends with the announcer saying, “When just OK is not OK.”

When I see one of those “Just OK Is Not OK” commercials, I think of the license plates that were once so common – “Oklahoma is OK.” As someone whose job is to develop policy suggestions to make Oklahoma better, that slogan – Oklahoma is OK – gets in the way.

In many respects, Oklahoma really is OK. We don’t have the best tax system, but it’s not the worst. Our taxes aren’t lowest, but they’re not nearly the highest. Our roads are pretty terrible, but eight states have worse. Eleven states have worse education systems, by one ranking. Oklahoma is now included in a list of “judicial hell holes,” but we have a lower unemployment rate than over half the states. It can’t be that bad, right?
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from MuskogeePolitico.com