Oklahoma’s legislative efforts to attract good paying jobs by increasing business tax incentives hasn’t kicked in yet according to the most recently published U.S. Census data on income and poverty.

Just in case you hear about how family income has increased under this era of tax cuts and business exemptions, which it has:

Median Family Income
………..2003……..2000
US     $43,318     $41,990
OK     $35,634     $33,410

Remember that these figures are not personal median income. They reflect all income within a household. And the number of people living under one roof can be expected to increase under times of escalating poverty; like today.

Poverty Rate
……..2003……..2000
US     12.5%     11.3%
OK     14.6%     13.8%

My Cleveland County neighbors fair pretty good overall, with a median family income and poverty rate matching the national average. My neighbors in Little Axe, not so much.

School district figures are good indicators. For instance, even though Little Axe School is located within Norman city limits, its pupils have a poverty rate (18%) about 60% higher than students in the Norman Public School District (11%).

Food for thought as corporate politicians tell us how good our economy is doing. I’ll let you guess how executive compensation is doing over the years. Or you can take a peek here.