Why Pay Now, When You Can Pay Later?

Michael Quinn Sullivan opposes new taxes! This is no surprise coming from the president and CEO of EmpowerTexans, and founder of the political advocacy group, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility (TFR).  In his article, "Stupidity isn't Bravery," Sullivan wonders why Texas State Representative Jimmie Don Aycock, "wants to saddle Texans with higher taxes and put the brakes on the state's economy."

According to Sullivan, Rep. Aycock, who is also the new chairman of the House Public Education Committee, referred to the tax increase as "bravery," and Sullivan thinks it's stupidity.  Hence the article title.  Clever.

In 2001, Texas began borrowing money for road construction and within a decade, that debt grew  to nearly 12 billion.  Today it's estimated that TxDOT is 13 billion in the hole.  With population growth comes infrastructure needs and Texas cannot  continue to incur debt that our children will be burdened with.  So a few words that I associate with the possible gas tax increase, that hasn't been raised in 20 years by the way, are; necessity, obligation and reality.

This article stems from State Sen. Kevin Eltife's gas tax proposal but Michael Quinn Sullivan seems to be after Rep. Aycock essentially accusing him of supporting the gas tax to misuse the funds on silly things like public education, DPS, and the State Highway Fund. 

 Eltife, R-Tyler said back in February, "It's the same thing I've been saying forever.  It really isn't a special proposal.  My call is that we have sold $13 billion in debt the last 10 years.  We have maxed out the credit card, and I always said we should pay cash and not go into debt."

There is no real substance or argument in this article. "The enforcer," as some call him, is a real gem. He provides us with no solution and therefore I can only conclude that his intention is to incite more anger in his already angry but "fiscally responsible" audience. By fiscally responsible, I mean conservatives who don't want to invest in the community in a responsible pay-as-you-go manner but instead want to push debt onto  future generations and conceal it behind Rick Perry's claim of economic success in Texas.