Weekly Opinion Editorial

CAN’T SAY NO!
by Steve Fair

A balanced- budget amendment is a constitutional rule requiring government to not spend more than its income. It would require a balance between the projected receipts and expenditures of the government. Every state in America, except Vermont, has some form of a balanced budget amendment.
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The U.S. federal government does not have a balanced budget amendment, but with the debt ceiling debate, there is a lot of talk of passing one. But getting a balanced budget amendment is a long and tedious process.
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There are two methods spelled out in Article five of the US Constitution on how to amend the founding document. The first is for the bill to pass both the US House and Senate and then go to the fifty state legislatures where it must be ratified by three fourths- 38- of the states.
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The second method- which has never been done- is for 2/3 of the state legislatures to call for a Constitutional Convention and propose one or more amendments. Ratification must still be by ¾ of the states.
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The Supreme Court has stated amendment ratification must be within "some reasonable time after the proposal." Beginning with the 18th amendment, it has been customary for Congress to set a definite period for ratification. In the case of the 18th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd amendments, the period set was 7 years, but there has been no determination as to just how long a "reasonable time" might extend.
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Of the thousands of proposals that have been made to amend the U.S. Constitution, only 33 obtained the necessary two-thirds vote in Congress. Of those 33, only 27 amendments (including the Bill of Rights) have been ratified.
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One state ready to ratify a balanced budget amendment is Oklahoma. Sixty-four legislators in the State House signed a letter in support of a proposed federal Balanced Budget Amendment. The letter expresses the legislators’ support of the amendment and declares the legislators’ intent to work for ratification of the proposal in Oklahoma.“If the Balanced Budget Amendment is approved by Congress, we are committed to supporting and working for ratification in Oklahoma,” the letter states. “We are confident that if given the opportunity, Oklahoma will be one of the first states to ratify the Balanced Budget Amendment.” Speaker of the House Kris Steele, (R-Shawnee), Representative Dennis Johnson, R-Duncan, and Corey Holland, (R-Marlow) all signed the letter.
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Oklahoma’s congressional delegation all support a balanced budget amendment. In fact, Senator Tom Coburn is so confident that President Obama would sign it if it reached his desk that he bet reporters in Washington a steak. Coburn told reporters, “I will bet you a porterhouse steak if it lands on his desk, he will sign this puppy.”
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While Dr. Tom and Prez are friends, it would seem Obama is not ready to help the Okie from Muskogee collect on the bet. President Obama said, “I think it’s important for everybody to understand all of us believe we need to get to the point where we can balance the budget, We don’t need a constitutional amendment to do that.”
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Do we need a federal constitutional amendment to insure Washington doesn’t spend more than they take in? It would seem so. Even under Republican control, Congress has an insatiable appetite for spending. When Republican lawmakers who brand themselves fiscal conservatives, but then take earmarks, push pet projects in their home state and rail against ‘big spending,’ it’s obvious we have a problem. Spending taxpayer money is the nature of the political beast, so it’s critical a law be passed that forces the creature to do what every American household has to do- live on what money comes in.
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Balancing the budget will be tough. The federal government employs over 2 million people- up almost ten percent in the past ten years- and those folks will not go ‘gently into that good night.’ Because most of the 1.4 million civilian employees have lots of time on their hands at work, they will relentlessly lobby members of Congress on how important their job is to the survivable of America. That’s how America has gotten a national debt of over 14 trillion dollars- over $130,000 per taxpayer. By caving into special interests. Like Ado Annie Carnes in the musical Oklahoma, most politicians ‘can’t say no.’
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Oklahoma legislators are OK for leading the charge to ratify a federal balanced budget amendment.

Weekly Opinon Editorial

COME FLY WITH US!
by Steve Fair

Last week, Governor Mary Fallin told the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce at their annual banquet that Oklahoma needs a ‘game changer.’ “All states have about the same things they offer business to come to their state. They all have tax incentives or use higher education or cash-back offers. In order to stand out, the state needs to create a game changer – something that is distinctive to Oklahoma and no other state,” Fallin said.

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One of the potential ‘game changer’ industries Fallin mentioned was the unmanned aircraft industry. “One such area today is the unmanned aerial systems program,” Fallin said. “Aerospace remains a key industry for our state, with more than 500 aerospace companies offering potential for growth and economic impact.” The Sooner state has about 360 flying days a year, so it is a great place for UAVs to be developed and tested.

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Unmanned aircraft has a history in Oklahoma. The Maritime Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System or MAVUS I was completed at Ft. Sill in 1992. That drone named, ‘The Sentinel’ successfully demonstrated the first free-flight autonomous landing of a UAV.

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According to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Association the advantages to using unmanned aircraft is the drones do not contain, or need a qualified pilot on board and can enter environments that are dangerous to human life. They can also stay in the air for up to 30 hours and can be programmed to complete a mission even if contact with the drone is lost.

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Some are saying it’s not that far into the future when commercial aircraft will have no on-board pilot, but a UAV pilot on the ground flying the plane remotely. The cost savings by eliminating the cockpit area would save carriers millions and would virtually eliminate the chance of a hijacking like what occurred in the 9-11 attacks.

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In fact Federal Express, the world’s largest air freight carriers, has said concerning UAVs, "'FedEx is always interested in new technology that will help us improve service to our customers, but we do not disclose the nature of our research."

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Call me old fashioned, but I want the pilot on-board/up front in any plane I’m flying on.

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In 2010, Oklahoma State University, through the University Multispectral Laboratories (UML), received a five-year U.S. Navy contract worth up to $44 million to test and design unmanned aerial systems. The work is being conducted at the UML in Ponca City, on the OSU-Stillwater campus, and at UML sites in Lawton. The contract will lead to the creation of 90 new jobs over the next five years
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The defense department has increased their inventory on UAVs in the past ten (10) years from less than 50 to more than 7,000 according to defensesystems.com. While the aircraft are unmanned, there is still a ‘pilot’ flying the UAV from a remote location. The challenge for the military has been a shortage of pilots which has plagued all branches of the service using the drones.

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UAVs perform a wide variety of functions and not just for the defense department. Most drones are currently used for some form of remote sensing. Less common UAV functions for the military include interaction and transport of supplies. Most everyone has heard of the MQ-1 Predator UAV which is armed with missiles and used for offensive purposes, but Predators have also been used to perform search and rescue and damage assessment. After hurricanes in Texas and Louisiana, the drones were sent up to 29,000 feet to gather information about the damage on the ground. The Predator has a sophisticated all-weather sensor capable of providing photographic-like images through clouds, rain or fog, and in daytime, so it is invaluable to officials as they access damage and what is happening on the ground.
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Fallin is onto something by encouraging the aeronautics industry to look at Oklahoma. Our two largest state universities- OSU and OU- have undergraduate degrees in Professional Pilot, Aviation Management, Technical Services Management, and Air Traffic Management. Oklahoma’s terrain and climate is friendly for flying planes- both manned and unmanned. The state has great people and an excellent quality of life. Aircraft companies should be looking to the Sooner state to location their operations. As the saying goes, “Come fly with us.”

Note: Pictured above is a General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, an unmanned aircraft (UAV) used primarily for reconnaissance and forward observation roles. The Predator carries cameras and other sensors and has been modified to carry and fire two Hellfire missiles. The drone has seen combat over Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bosnia, Serbia, Iraq, Yeman, Libya, and Somalia.

Weekly Opinion Editorial

PROMISES AND REALITY!
by Steve Fair

On Monday, House Speaker Kris Steele, (R-Shawnee) announced a State House oversight committee on pensions. The twelve member committee has eight (8) Republicans and four (4) Democrats. Representative Corey Holland, (R-Marlow) and Representative Todd Russ, (R-Cordell) are representing SW Oklahoma on the committee which is Chaired by Representative Randy McDaniel, (R-OKC). Holland is a former educator, Russ a banker.

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Representative McDaniel made a presentation at the Southern Legislative Conference’s annual meeting in Memphis that evidently grabbed the attention of other state legislators whose states face similar challenges with their pension plans. In his presentation, McDaniel highlighted what the Oklahoma legislature is doing to fix unfunded pensions.

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At the start of the 2011 legislative session, Oklahoma’s seven public employee retirement systems had over a $16 billion unfunded liability compared to a $6 billion unfunded liability just a decade ago. As of last March, Oklahoma’s 57 percent pension funding ratio was the third worst in the nation.

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However, the reforms enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature this session will produce savings of nearly $7 billion over the next 30 years. The major reforms enacted will require that cost-of-living adjustments be fully funded when authorized and will increase retirement ages to reflect rising longevity.

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“Oklahoma made noteworthy strides this year. Our efforts to shore up the state’s pension plans are being recognized,” McDaniel said. “I was honored to have the opportunity to discuss our approach with policymakers from across the country and look forward to continuing to work on this important issue.”

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“Improving the fiscal stability of our pension system is important because failing to do so would risk sending all of state government into fiscal disarray. I am pleased the House is continuing to rise to this challenge,” Steele said.

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How did the Oklahoma pensions plans get in this mess in the first place? In an article for OCPA in October 2010, Edmond CPA Steve Anderson answers that question. Anderson said, “The simple answer is that the state embraces a type of retirement plan that has shown a tendency to become fiscally insolvent. Defined-benefit plans, such as the state uses in each of its systems, have flaws that are almost unavoidable. In a defined-benefit plan the employer guarantees a certain benefit payment to an employee for his or her lifetime, come hell or high water. The collapse of Bethlehem Steel, the crisis at General Motors, and dozens of other examples have spotlighted the inherent problems with defined-benefit plans.” The entire article can be found at http://www.ocpathink.org/articles/274

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Anderson went on to point out that defined-benefit plans are even more pronounced in the public sector. He contended for year that Oklahoma politicians used the plans to buy votes but hide their actions from all but the most knowledgeable financial types.

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“Fortunately, recent rule changes enacted by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) have required government entities to reveal these debts to the public in their annual financial statements. However, those numbers are buried in places in the financial statements that still require a sleuth to find them,” Anderson said.

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Bottom line- past Oklahoma legislatures overpromised and underfunded. As they say, it's not often that promises and reality cross paths and this is a classic example.

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According to former Oklahoma AG Drew Edmondson, taxpayers are on the hook for those overpromises. In an opinion released in late November 2010, as he was leaving office, Edmondson said the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System (OTRS) must receive its annual allocation from the State Department of Education regardless of whether or not the Oklahoma Legislature passed line item direction to fund the credit.

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That simply means that if the money to fund teacher’s retirement is not there, then the legislature will have to raise taxes to get it. It’s like a mortgage- you are committed to it for years- payments are not optional.

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Past Oklahoma legislatures have passed the buck to the next legislature for years because they didn’t want to deal with this looming issue. They knew dealing with it would likely cost them votes, so they just ignored it.

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That is why it is critically important who we send to represent us in both Washington and Oklahoma City. If a person can be influenced by a powerful lobbying group to commit Oklahoma taxpayers to fund programs without a plan or mechanism to pay for it, then we need to replace them with someone with more common sense.

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Oklahoma still has a long way to go before we have our public pension plans fixed, but at least we now understand we have an issue and can work to resolve it. The key is to avoid similar ‘commitments’ in the future.

Commentary for SoonerPoll

OKLAHOMA IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS!
by Steve Fair

In a SoonerPoll http://soonerpoll.com/taken in early May, 500 plus Oklahomans were asked the reason only 40.4% of Oklahoma’s population of 3.75 million population is working. 26.7% of the respondents cited ‘lack of job opportunities’ as the reason. Interestingly the polling responses didn’t have a partisan twist- meaning both Democrats and Republicans recognized that lack of job opportunities is a major issue in the state.

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If you ask your friends and neighbors where their kids and grandkids are living most will say out of state. Their kids didn’t leave the state because they hated Oklahoma- they left for job opportunities. For years we have exported our best and brightest because meaningful jobs were not here when they completed their education.

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Because there were limited job opportunities, Oklahoma college graduates fled like the Okies in a Model A during the dust bowl. And who could blame them. When the average Oklahoman was earning $5,000 less per year than a person in Texas doing the same job, it’s hard not to justify living 300 miles south.

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For almost a century, the liberal controlled Oklahoma legislature did everything possible to hurt businesses by taxing everything that wasn’t nailed down. Oklahoma had high workers comp rates, no right-to-work law, and ‘jackpot justice.’ tort. No major company would seriously consider Oklahoma for relocation and existing Oklahoma businesses often left the state to seek friendlier confines. It was as if a CLOSED sign was hung on Oklahoma’s door to business.

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Thankfully that is changing. The most recent Oklahoma state legislature and Governor Fallin deserves an A+ for addressing two impediments to recruiting business to Oklahoma. This session they passed meaningful lawsuit reform and they revamped the workers comp system. That will help existing Oklahoma businesses be more competitive. It will also help to recruit business to the state. Don’t expect it to change overnight because we didn’t get here overnight, but the Sooner state has a lot going for it.

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Oklahoma is centrally located geographically, has a mild climate (never mind the current heat wave), hard working people and sits at the crossroads of two major interstates- I40 &I35. Oklahoma should be the distribution center capital of America. Retail and manufacturing goods have to be transported and with diesel fuel at all time highs, freight is a big factor. In time that may come to past because the 2011 removed some obstacles to job development in Oklahoma.

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It’s now up to state and local leaders to follow up by selling Oklahoma to out of state businesses for relocation. Oklahoma is open for business.

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READ MY PREVIOUS POST- HI..HO..HI..HO..IT'S OFF TO WORK THREE OKIES GO FOR MY OPINION ON WHY OKLAHOMA HAS ONLY 40.4% OF THE POPULATION WORKING! WHILE LACK OF JOBS IS ONE REASON, AN AGING POPULATION AND A HIGH NUMBER OF PEOPLE OF DISABILITY IS THE REAL REASON!

HI..HO..HI..HO..IT’S OFF TO WORK
THREE OKIES GO!
by Steve Fair

Sneezy has a chronic sinus infection. He takes Seldane, which he gets from his local pharmacy with his Medicaid card. He has been on Social Security disability for eleven (11) years. He mows yards in the summer, but will only accept cash for payment- no checks. He pays no state or federal income taxes, but receives an ‘Earned Income Tax Credit’ check every year.

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Sleepy is also on disability. He has sleep apnea and because he can’t get it under control, he is always tired. He does manage to make it to the local tribal casino everyday, but he can only stay about eight hours at a time. He always makes sure his winnings are below the ‘reportable’ amount to the IRS, so his disability check is not impacted. He works as a security guard at a salvage yard at night. The guy that opens up usually has to wake him up. He gets paid in cash.

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Bashful has ‘bashful bladder syndrome,’ also known as Paruresi. He has a fear of urinating. It means he has to stay home most of the time. He also draws social security disability, but works online for a psychic reading website that pays him cash so he doesn’t lose his disability. He takes Xanax to help him with BBS. The meds are covered by Medicaid.

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Dopey has an intellectual disability known as cognitive dysfunction or commonly known as brain fog. It unusually results in poor mental function, associated with confusion, forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating. He lives in a taxpayer supported apartment and draws social security disability. He works for a concrete contractor and gets paid in cash. He has a live-in girlfriend.
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Doc runs a thriving primary care medical practice. He works eighteen hours a day caring for the sick and disabled in his community. Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful and Dopey are all his patients. They are all on Medicaid. Because Doc’s medical liability premiums have risen in the past couple of years, his practice is just marginally profitable. He has considered leaving Oklahoma and moving his practice to another state, but with lawsuit reform passing the legislature this year, he decided to stay. Last year Doc paid 61% of his personal income in federal and state income tax. Sometimes he just doesn’t think it is worth it, even though he went to medical school to help people, he feels taken advantage of. Sometimes he questions if the juice is worth the squeeze.
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Grumpy runs a construction firm. He inherited the company from his father. He hates his job, his suppliers, his customers, his employees and most of all his family. He works fourteen hours a day and feels unappreciated. He built low income housing for Sneezy, Sleepy, and Bashful, three of his childhood friends. Grumpy believes it’s unfair for him to work and pay taxes and yet these ‘slackers’ can have a new house free and never pay a dime in taxes. Last year, he started going to Tea Party rallies when he could, taking along his friend Happy. Last year he paid 42% of his income in federal and state income tax. Two years ago, Grumpy was audited by the IRS for taking a perfectly legitimate business deduction. It took three months and lots of Grumpy's time and money, but in the end the IRS ruled he owned no additional taxes. He suffers from high blood pressure and high cholesterol, but his private funded HMO does not cover the medication he needs to keep it under control. Grumpy got his friend Doc to write him a prescription for two generic drugs that works fairly well, but his out of pocket expense is over $300 a month for the two medications.
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Happy is a jelly salesman. He travels the country and the world selling top retailers and wholesalers. Last year, he paid over 45% in federal and state income tax, but he still enjoys his life. He loves his family, his country and his Creator. He is content, believes America is still the land of opportunity. He cares about those less fortunate than himself. So much so, that he brought Sneezy, a childhood friend, a hypoallergenic pillow because he thought it would help him with his allergies. Every Christmas, he and his wife take baskets of food and goodies to Dopey, Sneezy, Bashful and Sleepy. Recently, he has not been as happy as he used to be because his wife has started to nag him about their not enjoying the fruits of his labor. He started attending the Tea Party rallies with his friend Grumpy and liked what he heard- particularly the part about smaller government. He put a 'Don't Trend on Me,' sticker on his back window.
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In America we have reached the lowest percentage of the population working in three decades. According to an April 2011 USA Today article http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2011-04-13-more-americans-leave-labor-force.htm ,only 45.4% of Americans were working in 2010. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out when less than half the people are working you have a productivity decline.
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In Oklahoma it’s even worse. Only 40.7%. of the population is working If the Oklahoma population were represented by the ‘Seven Dwarfs,’ only three of them would be working/producing. Nearly 60% of Oklahomans are NOT working. They are either on private or social security retirement, disability or public assistance. The rate of those not working in Oklahoma is 10.3% higher than the rest of the country.

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There are three reasons why Oklahoma’s rate of workers is lower than the total U.S.:
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First, Oklahoma’s overall population is older than the rest of the country. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 13.5% of Oklahoma’s population is over the age of 65. Nationally that number is 12.9%.
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Second, Oklahoma loses a lot of young people to other states. Because of limited career opportunities in the Sooner state, kids tend to leave our state as soon as they graduate from high school or college. We export our best and brightest. Like a modern day, Grapes of Wrath, the youth flee the Sooner state like the Okies did the dust bowl.

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Third, Oklahoma’s population is not as healthy as other states. According to Americanhealthrankings.org, Oklahoma is 49th in the country in health. In a state where the state meal is the Chicken Fried Steak, that’s not surprising, but poor health results in a higher percentage of the population not being able to work.

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The Social Security administration website lists Oklahoma as having 705,364 people drawing SS in some form or fashion, either in retirement benefits (430,842), or as disabled workers (120,235). 18.8% of the population of Oklahoma is on some form of social security. Nationally that percentage is 17.5%. In Texas that number is only 13.7%. Of the bordering states, only Arkansas (21.8%) has a higher percentage of their population drawing social security.
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While that explains the why Oklahoma has only 40% of their population working, but it doesn’t address the economical and social impact that will have in the coming years.
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First, with less people working, less tax will be collected reducing revenue to the government. That means government leaders will have to increase the rate of taxation on those working or reduce government services.
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Second, if government increases the rate of taxation on those working, some may elect to join those who are not. “If you can’t beat them, join them,” may replace “Labor conquers all,” as the Oklahoma state motto. Less producing workers will put more pressure on government sponsored entitlement programs, resulting in an even higher tax rate for those 'stupid' enough to continue to work in the private sector.
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Third, as the population ages, there will be an increased demand for health care particularly in rural areas of the state. With a shortage of primary care physicians already in the Sooner state, the new ObamaCare will create an even bigger shortage. According to a July 13th article in The Oklahoman, Oklahoma will face more challenges than any other state when more residents become eligible for Medicaid under ObamaCare.
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What do state and local government leaders need to do about this trend?
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First and foremost they must stop the erosion of our younger population. They can’t stop the aging process, but they can address people leaving the state. They must foster a business climate that will attract industry and jobs. They should be ‘selling Oklahoma’ to private business 24/7 to relocate and help existing businesses expand their operations.
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Secondly, they must work at pruning back government now starting with entitlement programs. If they wait until only one third of the population is working, it will be too late. The function of government is not to take care of someone from' the cradle to the grave.'
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Thirdly, they should provide an incentive for older Oklahomans to stay in the workplace. Seniors make great employees and many would continue to work, but government penalizes them if they ‘earn too much.’ Remove that impediment and older people will continue to remain in the workforce. That's a win/win for both government and seniors.
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Federal, state and local government better start paying attention to the graying of the population. ‘He ain’t heavy, he’s my Brother,’ is a great song, but Doc, Grumpy and Happy are not going to be able to carry their ‘petite disabled brothers’ forever. We have to give them some relief!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

"Labor omnia vincit"
Labor conquers all- the Oklahoma State Motto

by Steve Fair

The Oklahoma Department of Labor is responsible for the administration and enforcement of Oklahoma’s minimum wage law, enforces the state's child labor laws, oversees that state's workers’ compensation insurance compliance program, regulates of private employment agencies, and investigates and mediates of unpaid wages disputes.

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Additionally, the ODOL has jurisdiction for the inspection of welded steam lines, boiler and pressure vessels, elevators, amusement and water rides, and water heaters in public facilities. The Department is responsible for the certification of welders and weld-testing laboratories as well as the regulation and certification of asbestos workers.

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Since statehood, Oklahoma has only had eighteen (18) Commissioners of Labor. The office is a Constitutionally created office. In terms of personnel, the agency is among the states smallest with less than one hundred employees. The ODL has an annual budget of $7.5 million dollars. Mark Costello is the current Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor. He was elected in November 2010.

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According to the department’s website, Costello is a 4th generation Oklahoman born in Bartlesville. Mark graduated from the University of Kansas in 1980. He met and married his wife Cathy in 1982 and they have five children Christian, Ian, Anna Marie, Caitlin and Kolbe. They currently reside in Edmond.

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Costello was in the technology business before he ran for office. He founded and ran several tech companies. A fiscal conservative, Commissioner Costello believes that his private sector business experience is an asset in doing his job.

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One of the functions of the Oklahoma Labor Department is the gathering of statistical data to help employers. Statistics gathered by the Oklahoma Department of Labor for the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show that employees with less than one year of service are twice as likely to be injured at work as employees with more than five years of service with the same employer. These statistics suggest a direct causal link between workplace injuries and the amount of time an employee has worked for the same employer.

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The statistics gather by the ODL are consistent with the data compiled by Zurich, the second-largest writer of commercial general liability insurance in America, on workers comp claims. They found that claims from new employees account for a disproportionate share of workers’ compensation claims and related costs. Zurich cites reasons like inexperience, lack of skills or training, unrecognized hazards, unfamiliar surroundings, and careless or reckless efforts to complete tasks on time as reasons for the on-the-job injuries. Young workers – those under age 25 – are twice as likely to be injured on the job as older workers. The full report can be accessed at http://www.zurichna.com/internet/zna/SiteCollectionDocuments/en/media/whitepapers/Zurich-M-Recession-workers-comp.pdf

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Each year, more than 4.1 million people in the United States suffer a workplace injury or occupational illness. The injury rate is about 4.4 cases per 100 full-time workers. Through the years, the rate of injured workers has steadily increased which in turn costs business more in workers comp insurance.
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Much of the increase in premiums is due to fraudulent claims and business trying to deceive the insurance companies. According to the Coalition against Insurance Fraud (formed by the insurance industry in 1993), http://www.insurancefraud.org/ some businesses illegally try to avoid paying full state-required workers compensation premiums. One scheme involves paying workers off the books because the number of employees is a factor in determining a business’s premiums. Another scheme involves misclassifying employees in high-risk jobs as holding lower-risk jobs. The Oklahoma Department of Labor is charged with making sure employers are providing workers comp to employees as required by law. They balance that by working to help businesses reduce their workers comp premiums by providing a safe workplace for their employees.

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The Oklahoma Department of Labor offers a ‘Workers' Compensation Premium Reduction Program’ http://www.ok.gov/odol/Business_Services/Safety_Pays_OSHA_Consultation/Workers to help employers earn certification by demonstrating a strong commitment to workplace safety and health which is reflected in a reduced occupational injury/illness experience. Employers can earn up to a 15 percent reduction in their workers' compensation insurance premium by getting certified. That is significant because businesses don’t pay taxes, fees or workers comp premiums. Their customers do. A business can only pass along the cost.

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For decades, the Oklahoma Labor Department was very cozy with the state’s labor unions. The ODL’s enforcement of the ‘prevailing wage’ law on public projects cost Oklahoma taxpayers millions of dollars through the years. But in 1994, former three term Labor Commissioner Brenda Reneau( a Republican) took on the unions by challenging the Little Davis-Bacon(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis–Bacon_Act) Act. Reneau's courage resulted in its repeal in 2000. Up until Reneau took the helm at the ODL, few Oklahomans knew the function of the agency, let along how it impacted their wallets.
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The Department of Labor performs an important function in Oklahoma government. The state is fortunate to have a Labor Commissioner whose business background will make the Labor Department more effective for both businesses and employees. For the previous four years(under Lloyd Fields), the Department had digressed to nothing more than a front for the unions. Costello is a breath of fresh air in an agency that needed an airing out.

Weekly Opinion Editorial

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM!
by Steve Fair

Last week, U.S. Senators Tom Coburn, (R-Oklahoma), and Joe Lieberman, (I-Connecticut) unveiled a plan to save Medicare. It calls for higher premiums, an increase in the eligibility age from 65 to 67 and other measures to cut $600 billion from projected Medicare spending.
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The plan extends the solvency of Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) by allocating half of the savings from the proposal to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. It also reduces Medicare’s 75-year unfunded liabilities by an estimated $10 trillion and significantly reduces the fiscal impact of Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D on the federal budget.
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For the first time in the history of the Medicare program, the proposal will provide seniors with an annual out-of-pocket-maximum benefit within the Medicare program to protect them from bankruptcy in the event of a major illness or long term health condition.
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It also contains a three year fix to the Medicare physician reimbursement formula that is paid for and will bring stability and payments to the Medicare provider system, ensuring access for seniors.
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“We can't save Medicare as we know it,” Lieberman said at a news conference. “We can only save Medicare if we change it.”
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Acknowledging the tricky politics surrounding entitlement programs, Coburn said, “Nobody's going to like this plan; we understand that.” He said, though, that the need to take immediate action overrode the politics of the issue.
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Coburn estimates that twenty(20) percent of taxpayer dollars spent on Medicare is fraud. "If you look at Medicare and Medicaid, both vital programs today, they're highly inefficient. Medicare has at least $80 billion worth of fraud a year. That's a full 20 percent of every dollar that's spent on Medicare going to fraud. And Medicaid is not much better. We don't actually have the numbers because half the states aren't reporting their Medicaid fraud. So when you have programs that are designed to be defrauded, even though they're well-intended and they are helping people, we ought to think about how do we get better value for that money and less money going out the door. "
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Two weeks ago, Coburn and Senator Tom Carper, (D- Deleware) introduced bipartisan legislation to combat and reduce waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid. The Medicare and Medicaid Fighting Fraud and Abuse to Save Taxpayer Dollars Act (S.1251), also known as the FAST Act, would address a set of problems that leads to tens of billions of dollars lost to waste and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid every year.
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According to the Milliman Medical Index(http://insight.milliman.com/article.php?cntid=7628), the typical American family of four will spend $16,700 on health care this year. Americans spent over 2.3 trillion on health care in 2010- 17% of our total Gross Domestic Product. Health care costs are rising at a rate of eight(8) percent per year and have doubled in the last nine years.
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Coburn is not afraid to deal with the hard issues. Most of the politicos in Washington will not address the elephant in the room. They know neither Medicare and Social Security are not sustainable in their current structure, but are unwilling to take the political risk to reform them. Coburn is the exception to the rule and is the conscience of the Senate when it comes to out of control spending.
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During his keynote speech at the annual Stephens County GOP Fish Fry in May, Dr. Coburn said the most pressing issue in America is the politicians in Washington’s unwillingness to address out of control government spending. Coburn had just left the ‘Gang of Six’ and was frustrated with their unwillingness to make the deep cuts necessary to keep America from going broke.
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In an interview with the Free Republic, (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2722999/posts) Dr. Coburn said,“You have politics being played ahead of the good best interests of the country. I mean, this shouldn't be a Democrat/Republican thing. Our problems are urgent, they're immediate and they're severe, and lack of action's going to make the difficulty in solving them even greater.”
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On September 18, 2007, computer science professor Randy Pausch stepped in front of an audience of 400 people at Carnegie Mellon University to deliver a last lecture. Randy told his audience about the cancer that was devouring his pancreas and would claim his life in a matter of months. Millions have viewed Pausch’s ‘last lecture.’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo) Pausch said, "When there’s an elephant in the room introduce him."
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Unlike most politicians, Coburn refuses to ignore a huge smelly mammal in the room. Americans should be thankful for his courage and conviction.