Editorial...Jail Problem is the State's Problem

We read in the newspaper that Oklahoma tax receipts are the highest in history, up $745 million or 15 percent compared with last year. The oil and gas industry is the major contributor. General fund collections were $5.7 billion this past fiscal year.

But the state jail overcrowding gets worse every day, like a water pipe with a stump in it. State prisons are overcrowded, backing up the county jail system, which in turn gets threatened by the state jail inspector for fines up to $10,000 if the jail population doesn't get reduced.

So the County Commissioners have been talking about an increase in the sales tax by a penny, to build a new jail in Jay. Thankfully, that's all they have done, talk.
Delaware County, particularly Grove, already has a sales tax that is too high and we are losing business to Arkansas and Missouri.

We would like to whisper in the county commissioner's ears and hope it stays in their heads, even after the election:

--No New Taxes.
--Tell our Legislators to fix the problem in Oklahoma City.
--Build more State-run jails at State expense.
--Don't expect the counties to fix problems caused by the State.

We hope our readers will whisper in their ears as well.