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Updates to the page are listed
in green.
Increased Spending
Betty is proud that she is a member of the "influential
budget writing Appropriations Committee." She is indeed a member, and with that membership comes responsibility.
Here is how much the State of Texas has spent every year since 1998 when she first won election:
1998
$43.2 billion Betty elected
1999 $45.7 billion
$2.5 billion dollar increase (Betty's first session)
2000
$49.7 billion $4.0 billion dollar increase
2001
$52.7 billion $3.0 billion dollar increase
2002
$55.7 billion $3.0 billion dollar increase
2003
$60.3 billion $4.6 billion dollar increase
2004
$60.7 billion $400 million dollar increase
2005
$64.7 billion $4.0 billion dollar increase
2006
$68.8 billion $4.1 billion dollar increase
When
Betty arrived at the House of Representatives in 1999, that year's expenditures totaled $45.7 billion. When she
arrived for this past legislative session, state spending for 2006 totaled $68.8 billion. Despite her current
position on the influential budget-writing committee, Betty watched as the state increased spending by an overall
total of $23.1 billion--per year. That's 23,100,000,000 dollars. The .1 by itself translates
into $100 million.
Betty's spending increased more than 50% in 7 years. Did your income increase
by 50% in the past seven years? If you made $30,000 per year in 1999, then you should be making $45,000 right now to
keep up with Betty Brown's budget. If you were making $40,000 in 1999, you should be well up to $60,000 if your
income keeps pace with state spending.
But Betty tells us voters on her website that she has "held the line
on government spending." If she thinks this is holding the line, voters should be afraid to see
what dropping it looks like. This is not fiscal conservatism, or even fiscal responsibility. It is government
spending gone wild.
Bigger Government
A new fund and a new
agency--costing taxpayers more, making bureaucracy bigger.
Corporate Welfare
Before 2003, there was no such thing as the Texas Enterprise Fund. But in 2003, Betty voted to create the $295
million fund. What does the Texas Enterprise Fund do? It writes checks to corporations. Taxpayer
dollars are taken from citizens, put in the fund, and then doled out to large corporations. The idea behind it is to
draw business to Texas. Many local governments offer tax breaks and other incentives to entice a company to the area.
Betty Brown thought it wise to pay corporations directly with your money and mine.
So what is the benefit
to the citizens of Kaufman and Henderson counties? Not a single business based in Betty's district has
received funding. And if you're a small business, don't bother applying for the funds. Small businesses
don't qualify--Lowe's or Home Depot could get millions (Home Depot in Austin and New Braunfels did), but a family-owned
hardware store competing with those mega-companies is out of luck.
UPDATE 10/8/05
Read the Houston Chronicle story describing the performance of companies who have taken taxpayer money.
Click on "Countrywide, other benefactors of job fund lay off employees" to view newspaper article.
New Commission
In 2003, Betty voted to create the Texas Residential Construction Commission. For more information on how homeowners
are hurt by this unnecessary addition to government bureaucracy, please click on the link below.
Texas Residential Construction Commission
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