The budget crunch

The Tulsa World poll shows that while Oklahomans want something done about the sad state of the state budget, they're not in agreement on exactly what that something should be.

Fully 77 percent of the respondents were happy to increase so-called "sin" taxes, though there was no real enthusiasm for any other tax or fee increases. And while 77 percent (again!) called for trimming waste at state agencies, no individual agency is considered the worst offender.

The state has no choice but to balance its budget — it's a Constitutional requirement — and what's most likely to happen is that state agencies will go through the motions of tightening their belts, and low-level state employees will be sacrificed to preserve the positions of their bosses. In other words, nothing new.