OKonomics is Back!

I couldn't stand to be silent any longer.

Ten years ago, shortly after the birth of my daughter Grace, I was troubled by the state of economic affairs. I saw a conservative movement so enamored with tax cuts that they were willing to slash spending on core government programs like education, health care, roads, and prisons. I saw a progressive movement who refused to accept the power of market forces to bring about positive change. And I saw a world my daughter was entering into, that seemed utterly unprepared to stand up for our children.

So I began to write...a lot.

I started with a weekly online column that grew in a few years to a weekly column in the Edmond Sun. In 2007 I started the OKonomics blog where I shared daily commentary on the economic news of the day--a blog that at times garnered national attention. While it's hard to say that my writings had much impact on public policy, I at least knew that I was doing something to fight for my children's future.

Then in 2011 I was named the Dean for the College of Business at the University of Central Oklahoma. It's a position that offered new challenges for me both personally and professionally. It's a position that also offered me a chance to help lead an organization to reach its potential. However, the demands of leading an organization with an $11 million annual budget meant I had less time to write, and less time to be engaged. So, in March of 2011 I stopped blogging.

This spring my daughter turned 10 years old...and my son turned 7. This spring the Oklahoma Legislature spent more time debating the UN's Agenda 21 than they did education funding. They spent more time trying to nullify the federal health care law than they did trying to ensure that all Oklahomans have access to quality health care. In short, I still see a world where our leaders are unwilling to invest in our future.

And once again I find that I can't stand to be silent any longer.

So, OKonomics--my blog on the economic issues affecting Oklahoma--is back. I can't promise that I will be posting every day. After all, I still have a College of Business to lead. But I can promise that here you will find a perspective that values solutions instead of slogans, that chooses good policies over good politics, that places truth above fiction.

My kids are growing up quickly (much too quickly if you ask me), and someday soon will be ready to inherit the world we leave them. This blog, and the ideas I share here, are this one lone man's attempt to make that world a little better. For when it comes to fighting for our children, one more voice is never enough.