{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-253","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 56, § 56-253","heading":"Legislative findings","body":"The Legislature hereby finds that:\n\n1. Americans of most economic classes are having increasing\n\ndifficulty climbing the economic ladder. Fully half of all\n\nAmericans have no, negligible or negative investable assets just as\n\nthe price of entry to the economic mainstream, such as the cost of a\n\nhouse, starting a business, an adequate education, establishing a\n\nretirement account, or purchasing an automobile, is increasing;\n\n2. Economic well-being does not come solely from income,\n\nspending, and consumption, but also requires savings, investment,\n\nand accumulation of assets, since assets can improve economic\n\nstability, connect people with a viable and hopeful future,\n\nstimulate development of human and other capital, enable people to\n\nfocus and specialize, yield personal and social dividends, and\n\nenhance the welfare of offspring;\n\n3. There is an urgent need for new means for Americans to\n\nnavigate the labor market and to provide incentives and means for\n\nemployment, upgrading, mobility, and retention;\n\n4. The household savings rate of the United States lags far\n\nbehind other industrial nations, presenting a barrier to economic\n\ngrowth. The State of Oklahoma should develop policies, such as\n\nindividual development accounts, that promote higher rates of\n\npersonal savings and net private domestic investment;\n\n5. In the current fiscal environment, the State of Oklahoma\n\nshould invest existing resources in high-yielding initiatives.\n\nThere is reason to believe that the financial returns, including\n\nincreased income, tax revenue, and decreased welfare cash\n\nassistance, of individual development accounts will far exceed the\n\ncost of investment;\n\n6. Tens of thousands of Oklahomans continue to live in poverty\n\nand receive public assistance. Poverty is a loss of human\n\nresources, an assault on human dignity, and a drain on social and\n\nfiscal resources of this state. Traditional public assistance\n\nprograms, concentrating on income and consumption, have rarely been\n\nsuccessful in promoting and supporting the transition to economic\n\nself-sufficiency; and\n\n7. Income-based social policy should be complemented with\n\nasset-based social policy, because while income-based policies\n\nensure that consumption needs, including food, child care, rent,\n\nclothing, and health care, are met, asset-based policies provide the\n\nmeans to achieve economic self-sufficiency and climb the economic\n\nladder.","path":["OK Code","Title 56"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os56.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"7591284846b2606323dc60fca7a4bb73965fb5c28eb80d4a75630efaa05b780b","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-252","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-254"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}