In these economic times, I'm proud to be a Okie. When the rest of the country suffers, Oklahoma & Texas seem to boom. One of the best things is the abundance of locally owned banks which have been extremely frugal since the Penn Square Bank fiasco of 1982. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE4DE1030F937A35756C0A96E948260
With the Oil Patch in high gear, unemployment is in the 3.5% range state wide and 2% in much of rural OK. Housing and Business expansion are both in an upward swing, as is retail and most of the service sectors. What comes as a surprise to many is that Aviation/Aeronautics is our largest, and fastest expanding indusrty, fueled greatly by Tinker Air Force Base (the states 3rd largest employer). Oklahoma has diversified so greatly since the "bust" of the middle '80s we may be recession proof (and maybe not).
If is weren't for the Indian Casinos, these would be the "Best of Times".