Until there is a major political movement to raise wages, he said, Sooner state workers will continue to suffer economically. "Not long ago there was a political movement in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which forced an increase in the minimum wage. And the results there have been dramatic. If the same thing happened in Oklahoma it would cause major political change."

In March of this year, Raise Oklahoma -- a group seeking to increase the minimum wage here from $5.15 an hour to $6.15 per hour -- circulated an initiative petition calling for a statewide vote on the issue. Last week, the group announced they had failed to get the required number of signatures to place the issue to a vote.

Maril said the drive was great example of the fair wage movement. "It's just the first shot in a long fight," he said. "They'll be back."

Ingram agreed. She said the drive proved thousands of Oklahomans want a "decent" wage. "People want to be able to live a normal life. They want to reach that brass ring"

The drive's failure, she added, is an indication that organizations need large amounts of money and staff to make political change here. "Don't let anyone kid you. People support the issue. You just need the resources to pull it off."

While not as popular as "The DaVinci Code" or the latest installment of the Harry Potter series, the fact that Maril's five-year-old academic study is still listed for sale, and still being used, proves the book's staying power. "I am pleased that people are still reading it," Maril said. "I believe the issue continues to need study."

So much, in fact, that Maril said he is planning a follow-up work on poverty in Oklahoma in 2010. "I want to see if anything has changed since 2000."

Although Ingram, too, said she would like the see a change for the positive in the state's poverty rate, she doesn't believe that change will occur within the next four years.

"Dr. Maril's study will be interesting. We do have some initiatives that might yield results. Right now there is a big focus on early childhood education and the state is poised to make some heavy-duty investments, but they won't happen overnight. It may take until 2020 before we see positive results."

It took a long time to create the problem, she said, and "it will take a lot longer to get us out of it."