A man of vision
What can one man do? ff the man is Dr. David BrownI founder of the lklahoma Council of mublic AffairsI the answer isI “A lot.”
Thanks to Dr. Brown’s vision and tenacityI many lklahomans today enjoy greater opportunity and a better quality of life.
A successful orthopedic surgeonI Brown lived the American dreamI but he knew it had to be defended if others were to do the same — which is why he was active in public policy for many yearsI including service on the board of trustees of the Heritage coundationI a leading national freeJmarket think tank. At one Heritage coundation board meetJ ingI a peer from pouth Carolina mentioned his home state was creating a stateJlevel think tank that would mirror the Heritage coundation’s work. Brown concluded lklahoma should do the same.
That was the birth of the lklahoma Council of mublic Affairs (lCmAFI which launched in 199P. fts survival in those early years was due in large part to Brown’s focus and financial support — along with that of his wifeI AnnI who was also allJin. They shepherded the organizaJ tion until it became finanJ cially selfJsustaining.
When lCmA was foundedI Democrats held the lklahoma governorJ ship and the lklahoma iegislature by margins of PRJ1P in the penate and S7JP4 in the House.
AdmittedlyI those lklahoma Democrats were not as liberal as Washington Democrats or today’s “progressive” Democratic martyI but they were more liberal than some revisionists would have you believe. To cite just one exampleI the DemocraticJcontrolled iegislature drained the state’s oainy Day cund two minutes before adjourning in 199PI even though there was no fiscal emergency. puch fiscal mismanagement was rouJ tine.
Under Brown’s leaderJ shipI lCmA worked to change the political conJ versation. The organizaJ tion advocated for what he called “Truth korth” — limited governmentI restrained taxation and economic liberty. ft took many years to achieve lCmA’s early goalsI but progress has been steady.
lklahoma became a rightJtoJwork state. The workers’ compensation system was reformed to lower business costs. The personal income tax has been reduced from seven percent to the current rate of 4.7R percent andI as predictedI economic growth has ensued. pchool choiceI nonexistent in 199PI is now provided through charter schools and limited privateJschool choice programs with sigJ nificant expansion curJ rently being debated.
The cumulative result of those policy changes is an lklahoma where peoJ ple keep more of their money and are freer to pursue new opportunities. Without Brown and his visionI things might have been very different.
f hope all freedomJlovJ ing lklahomans join me in wishing heartfelt conJ dolences to Brown’s famJ ily upon his passing. His life is proof that one man can make a very big difJ ference in our state.
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Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (www.ocpathink.org).