For Immediate Release
February 4, 2013
Contact: Trav Robertson
405.427.3366

 THE GOVERNOR’S PLAN FOR THE RICH

Governor Mary Fallin Present State of the State 

Oklahoma City– Governor Mary Fallin told Oklahomans that she only cares about the wealthy in her State of the State address. Her plan for 2013 shows that she will ignore the problems that we face in areas like health, education, and government.

During the Governor’s speech she talked about her rejection of the Medicaid expansion which would have immediately helped 600,000 Oklahomans, but Governor Fallin told those people that they should start feeling better because she would not help them. She said that the cost of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was too much, but she ignored the fact that we have already paid for it with federal tax dollars. The $54 million for a Health Insurance Exchange that she sent back to Washington is Oklahoma’s money that will be used in a different state.

The moral issue of protecting life “in the womb and at birth” was brought up but as the Republican Party’s morals show, they do not care about the child afterwards because they are the party of “pro-birth”. The Governor’s actions spoke louder than words when she denied birth as a qualifying event to allow new parents to have their child covered under their insurance plan.

She reminded Oklahoma teachers and parents about the failed “A-F” grading system that was supposed to help schools. She also neglected to comment on her strategy to help keep schools safe for our children.

The Governor continues to cut services as she did with the Human Rights Commission, Indian Affairs Commission, and the Affirmative Action Committee. Now she wants to remove 40 more advisory boards that help keep her accountable. She talked about being transparent, but continues to hide emails from the public that guided her decision to not implement the ACA.

Governor Fallin wants to put money into projects like fixing the crumbling State Capitol Building, but she does not have a plan to pay for it. And her intention to further decrease state revenue by returning thousands of dollars to our wealthiest citizens can only result in Oklahoma’s continued decline.

As Oklahomans we need to choose between Mary’s path that leads to a poorly-educated and unhealthy population struggling to compete for jobs, and a path of common sense values that invests in getting Oklahomans healthy, providing them a well rounded education, and making sure they understand what their lawmakers are doing at the State Capitol.

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