Letter: Do not borrow for roadwork

Gov. Henry McMaster’s plan to borrow millions of dollars to fix our decaying roads is shortsighted at best.

Borrowed money must be repaid with interest, and this will fall on South Carolina residents. I can’t for the life of me understand why our leaders want to make us pay more for the repairs than absolutely necessary.

When someone mentions “gas tax,” it elicits howls from opponents. When you hear of a proposal to borrow money, it seems to fall flat. Where does the governor think the money to pay back the loan is going to come from? That’s right, taxes. Only these will be placed exclusively on the backs of South Carolina residents, who will be paying principal and interest. You can pay now with a gas tax. Or you can pay a lot more later. Stop making us slaves to lenders.

This story was originally published April 14, 2017 at 11:36 AM with the headline "Letter: Do not borrow for roadwork."