HI..HO..HI..HO..IT’S OFF TO WORKTHREE 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.
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.
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.
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.
*****
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.
*****
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.
*****
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.
*****
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.
*****
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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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.
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.'
*****
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.
*****
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!
*****
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.
*****
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.
*****
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.
*****
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.
*****
What do state and local government leaders need to do about this trend?
*****
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.
*****
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.'
*****
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.
*****
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!
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