Tax Day

Tax Day is bearing down on us again and serves as another reminder of the need to reform our outdated tax laws.

Going back to my days in the Oklahoma House, I’ve always supported reforms that lessen the tax burden on families and allow them to keep more of their hard-earned money. As a member of Congress, I’ve fought to drastically reduce the capital gains tax, the corporate tax and the estate tax in order to foster a business environment where more and better jobs can be created.

President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and the other liberals in Washington believe they can tax and spend our way to prosperity. But in Oklahoma, we know that’s just not right.

We need to have a tax code that incentivizes the entrepreneurial spirit that made our country into the greatest economy in the world! I promise as governor, I will support tax policy that helps our economy thrive and allows Oklahoma families to keep more of their pay in their pockets.

Working Across Oklahoma tour wraps up in Tulsa

We got started in Norman yesterday, which was the last day of the opening round of the Working Across Oklahoma tour.

I started off giving a speech at a health care providers’ conference. I talked about how the Obama/Pelosi health care bill is not the answer to meaningful reform. We need to introduce free-market reforms, transparency and competition into the system to lower costs, improve outcomes and increase access to affordable and quality health care.

There were health care professionals there who expressed to me concerns about the negative effects of “ObamaCare.” I told them when I’m governor I will lead the charge in overturning this jobs-killing, reckless-spending bill.

After speaking at the conference, we headed to Tulsa where I participated in a GOP gubernatorial candidate forum. There was a great crowd on hand and they received our campaign well. They also really responded to my message that as governor I will focus on creating a pro-business environment in Oklahoma that would lead to more and better jobs and greater economic prosperity for our families.

Then, I moved on to Oral Roberts University where I had the pleasure of speaking with members of the student government association. It’s always great to see young people who are motivated to serve their fellow students through service in student government.

Next, it was on to BlueCross BlueShield where I worked as a health care administrator. I sat in on meetings where the topic of conversation was how to “bend the cost curve” for the insurance carrier in order to reduce medical costs for its customers.

Finally, I ended the day by speaking to the Republican Assembly in Tulsa during one of their regular meetings at a Furr’s in the Farm Shopping Center. Again, our conservative message was well received and I had a good time visiting with folks there.

The 15-day tour is over and I'm headed back to Washington. It was a grueling schedule (I logged 14-hour days most days) but it’s been worth it to get out and talk one-on-one with Oklahomans while working alongside them in their offices, in their fields and on their factory floors.

While there are a number of important issues on the minds of Oklahomans right now, like health care and stopping out-of-control government spending, the issue I kept hearing over and over was that people want our next governor to focus on boosting our economy and creating an environment where more and better jobs are created.

When I kicked-off this tour, I promised my administration would do just that. After 15-days on the road, I promise you my resolve to fight on this issue has only grown stronger.

Today’s job gone to the dogs – Working Across Oklahoma tour

I’ve had a lot of interesting jobs on the Working Across Oklahoma tour. I drove a bus in Lawton. I made sandwiches at a Love’s in Webbers Falls and I drove a feed truck on a cattle ranch in Guymon.

However, I’m sure today’s work stop tops them all in terms of uniqueness. I worked as a vets’ assistant with Rick Reid at his animal clinic in Nowata. Normally, I would be a little nervous when a vet tells me I’m helping him clean the teeth of a dog. However, today I was actually relived to hear that. Originally, I’d been scheduled to help Rick spay a cat but that procedure got canceled! Nevertheless, it was interesting to watch the vet at work on the little dog.

Afterward, Rick and I talked about education. He’s also the president of the local school board and is dedicated to ensuring his students receive the best education possible. As governor, I’ll work to improve the quality of our educational institutions across the board: from grade school to vocational schools to our universities.

Earlier, our day started in Bartlesville in the usual way. We dropped in on several businesses in downtown before heading over to the library for a meet and greet reception with local GOP activists. It was good crowd of conservative activists. The Bartlesville Rotary Club had me as the guest speaker today and we had a good crowd for that meeting as well.

Also, I wanted to tell you about my day on Saturday. We traveled to Newcastle and Pauls Valley for the Working Across Oklahoma tour.

In Newcastle, we had 50-60 people show up for a meet and greet at Kairos Gun and Archery. There were a lot of NRA members in the house and they told me they appreciated my strong support of Second Amendment! The great folks at Kairos provided us all with some delicious barbecue.

In Pauls Valley, I worked the register at Reavis Drug. It was good to visit with the customers shopping at Reavis – which is a huge store with a lot more products than what you’d expect to find in a drug store. They were concerned about the recently passed federal health care bill and what effects it would have on them. I told them about the millions of dollars of unfunded mandates passed on to Oklahoma and about the Medicare program cuts contained in the bill. I also told them of how as governor, I will lead the fight to make sure this job-killing, reckless-spending bill is overturned.

Tomorrow, I’ll be in Tulsa where I’ll work again in the health care industry. It’s my last stop on this leg of the Working Across Oklahoma tour but we’re considering adding more work stops in the weeks ahead as the campaign continues.

Working Across Oklahoma Tour Update

Looking at the trip odometer this morning, I noticed we’ve traveled 3,600 miles since the Working Across Oklahoma tour started. The days have been long and we’ve spent lots of time on the road, but it’s all been worth it.

Today, we started in Oklahoma City where I dropped by the Arts Council to sit in on a meeting about the annual Arts Festival held in downtown Oklahoma City. It looks like the council has another year of great food, music and art on tap. Our non-profit organizations, like the Arts Council, do a great job of enhancing our communities with events like the annual festival.

After that, I went to the national Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, where I spoke at the dedication of a memorial to Eric Petty and other Oklahoma soldiers who have been killed in the line of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Eric’s parents, Ronnie and Janet Petty, are dear friends and Janet has handled military affairs for my staff going back to my tenure as lieutenant governor. We must never forget the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform in the name of keeping us free. We also must never forget the burden shouldered by families like the Pettys who sacrifices we can never repay but will always remember.

Later in the afternoon, I went to the UPS facility in south Oklahoma City where I delivered packages and rode a truck along a UPS delivery route. I got a few strange looks from people who expected to see their normal delivery person when I knocked on doors.

Finally, I ended the day in Edmond where I helped fill out a tax return at Hale & Co. CPAs. The Hale CPAs use sophisticated software, but our tax code remains very complicated. It’s easy to see why so many Oklahomans are frustrated when it comes to filling out your taxes. We need to look at simplifying our tax code. Additionally, it’s important we keep our tax burden low in Oklahoma so that our families can keep more of their hard-earned money.

The Working Across Oklahoma tour continues to be a huge success and I sure have appreciated the knowledge and insight I’ve gained. It’s important our next governor be connected with the people and understands what issues concern them most. And that’s exactly why I’m out here on the road and exactly what I’m learning while working alongside Oklahomans in their offices, out in the fields and on the factory floor.

Tomorrow, I’ll be visiting Newcastle for a meet and greet at a local gun shop as well as working at the Reavis drug store in Pauls Valley.

Honoring our seniors – Working Across Oklahoma tour update

Today, the schedule was light compared to what we’ve been doing the rest of the time on our Working Across Oklahoma tour.

Our stop today was especially meaningful to me. I worked at Sunset Estates nursing home during the summers while I went to Oklahoma State. And later, my mother was a resident in that same nursing home and I spent a great deal of time visiting her there. It was such a relief to me to know I could trust the staff to care for my mother and that the staff genuinely cared about her well-being.

Today, I visited the Tuscany Village Nursing Home in the Oklahoma City area and was able to speak with the staff and some residents. Tuscany Village is spectacular and I can tell the staff really works to attend to the physical needs of their residents as well as their emotional needs. In fact, the Tuscany Village staff sits down and eats every meal with their residents.

With an increasingly aging population, it’s important we take care of our seniors and treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve. We also must ensure we provide them with the health care they need. As governor, I will support programs that protect our seniors and enrich their lives.

But it’s disappointing to consider that the recently passed federal health care bill devastating cuts to the Medicare program, which many Oklahoma seniors depend on for their health care. I voted against this bill and as governor of Oklahoma I will lead the charge to see its repeal.

Tomorrow, I’ll be in the Oklahoma City area again for three work stops! I’ll be working at a non-profit organization, at an accountant’s office and as a UPS delivery person.