Kirk Watson Austin American Statesman Commentary

01/29/07
Today, The Austin American Statesman published an editorial by Senator Kirk Watson (D-Austin). A response from http://www.eyeonwilliamson.org/ soon followed. Both are interesting reads.

AAS Article:
Watson: Stopping area toll roads doesn't mean a free ride
We must stop talking about “free roads,” as if there ever were such things. Any tool we use, any road we’re on, costs money from some source. We can’t simply oppose things or divert attention from problems with slogans or personal attacks. Our citizens are too smart to let half-truths, untruths, innuendo and conspiracy theories define our future. We don’t have the time and shouldn’t have the patience for unaccountable ideologues distorting our present or jeopardizing our future.

EOW Response:
Kirk Watson's Op-Ed
Most of us “anti-tollers” are not against toll roads, per se. The Phase II roads have already been paid for with tax money, that’s why there’s a beef about tolling those roads. The beef has never been about free roads, but about double taxation. The problem we have with the other roads is that a gas tax is much, much cheaper than the tolls that we will pay for driving them, not to mention the corruption involved in getting them built, and ceding all future decisions about our transportation decisions to the corporations that build them. Calling us conspiracy theorists isn’t going to help his cause either.