AUSTIN – In an interview with the Associated Press Tuesday, Bill White expressed his openness to raising taxes, increasing public debt and seizing private property to pay for new state spending on roads. Please consider the following as a response from the Republican Party of Texas.

“Bill White’s call for higher taxes on working Texans is irresponsible and wrong,” said Republican Party of Texas spokesman Bryan Preston. “In a time of national recession, tax hikes will hurt families, damage businesses and kill jobs. The Obama Democrats have engaged in policies that have done enough of all three over the past 18 months. Texans don’t need Bill White importing those policies into our thriving state.

“Bill White’s stance shows that he is just another tax and spend liberal Democrat who thinks nothing of spending other people’s money and driving up public debt. He did both when he was Mayor of Houston, and as a result Houstonians carry more debt per capita than is wise or reasonable. We don’t need and can’t afford to have him do that to the rest of the state.”

Link: “White won’t rule out debt, taxes to pay for roads,” April Castro, Associated Press, August 17, 2010