Analysis: The Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) and the Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG) announced today the relaunch of Drive EV Oklahoma, a statewide initiative to promote electric vehicle (EV) adoption that prioritizes cleaner air, better health, and lower transportation costs for Oklahomans. It does make us wonder how the two largest shadow government organizations in the state have directed taxpayer money to promote such a cause and why?

The gap between intentions and outcomes can be vast in politics, as the push to raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage demonstrates.

Proponents say they want to help struggling citizens at the bottom of the state’s economic ladder. But in practice, their wage-policy preference yanks that ladder out of the hands of those low-income workers, leaving them not only poor but also with far less opportunity for future advancement.

Why? Because the market still sets worker rates even when government planners pretend otherwise. If a minimum wage exceeds market value, it forces employers to simply reduce hiring, shift to automation, or move jobs to more business-friendly climates.

As the founder of the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship, where hundreds of college students come from around the world to earn their degrees and learn how to start their own businesses, I’m always amazed at the misconceptions about investors.