Every so often the Oklahoma Legislature unveils a new policy priority that makes me guffaw.The latest is courtesy of our new House leadership. Earlier this month, they presented a plan to create a government efficiency portal that is “intended to root out duplication of services, waste and inefficiencies in state government.”Modeled after a goofy federal initiative created by President-elect Donald Trump, House Speaker Kyle Hilbert and his entourage of Republican legislators are encouraging Oklahomans to share examples of how our state government is wasting resources. Hilbert promises the information will be utilized during budget hearings and when crafting the upcoming budget.At first I thought our House members were joking, because on the surface, this portal seems like a prime example of government wastefulness – and hilarious irony. Why do we need yet one more government function in a state where Republicans are in charge?Republicans for years now have held supermajorities in both legislative chambers, and they control every elected statewide office.What Republicans want, Republicans get. Right?That goes double during the budgeting process where Republicans aptly demonstrated last year that they controlled the entire conversation both in public and private.So either House Republicans are signaling in an alarming way that they don’t understand what they’re doing when crafting our roughly $12 billion budget, or this represents a pitiful attempt to pander to their base.For the sake of argument, I tried to assume they’re being sincere. So I put on my super hero thinking cap, always ready to lend a hand, particularly when it comes to wasteful government priorities.Within mere minutes, I filled a memo pad with all sorts of ridiculous spending.Some highlights: — The $150 million private school tax credit voucher-like program. Lawmakers promised us with a straight face that they would increase school choice options for poor children by using public funds to help cover private school tuition. The reality is that we’re actually paying for thousands of rich people’s kids to continue to attend private schools because lawmakers inexplicably refuse to put an income cap on who qualifies. Even millionaire Gov. Kevin Stitt at one point planned to cash in on the government assistance program for his own children. Over half of initial applicants were families earning more than $150,000 a year, over twice Oklahoma’s median income. The good news for Republicans is the wastefulness is going to get even more bloated, so they have time to act. The ...
