Tax Increase Not the Answer to Jail Overcrowding Problem

I find it ironic that the Los Angeles Times published the results of its poll showing that Orange County residents favor a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for a new jail on the same day that I filled in my income tax forms (“Sales Tax Hike for New Jail Garners Strong Support,” Jan. 27).

I was shocked when I saw in black and white just how much of my earnings go to state and federal income taxes. I was equally shocked when I opened the paper and found out that the county wants even more in sales tax.

The real jolt came after I did a few calculations and discovered how much this new jail is going to cost me.

The county has estimated that the new jail would cost $1 billion to build and $300 million each year to operate. With this expense spread among the 2.4 million men, women and children that live in Orange County, my family of five would have to pay $2,083 to build the jail and then another $625 each year to operate it.

I don’t think the issue at this point is whether we need this jail or even where to locate it. It is whether we can afford it or not. I know that I simply cannot.

What angers me about the proposed half-cent sales tax increase is that the backers openly admit that it will not come close to covering the construction costs of the proposed new jail or even the annual operating costs. They are counting on the fact that once we are committed to their plan, we will have no choice but to submit to their demands for even more money.

I recently heard someone say that the first thing you do when you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging. We are clearly in a hole with the current proposal for a gigantic jail in Gypsum Canyon. A half-cent sales tax increase would just dig us in deeper.

We need to find a way out of this hole. One good place to start would be to explore the possibility of a series of smaller jails built on existing county-owned land. This approach would allow us to get started quickly, closely control the progress and live within our budget.

DENNIS VICKERS, Orange