Carpenter: More Bureaucrats, More Spending

BOHEMIA – Eighteen years after promising to “find ways to generate jobs and enhance the Long Island economy,” (Newsday, 2/15/93) Angie Carpenter finally today released her solutions for improving the Suffolk economy: more bureaucrats and more spending.
 
“Angie Carpenter is recycling the same three ideas she’s brought for 18 years in County government — more bureaucrats, more patronage and more spending,” said Suffolk County Democratic Committee Chairman Rich Schaffer.  “Just like she did when she requested a county job for her political advisor and nine others for her office, she wants to increase the size of bureaucracy.  The County Executive rejected that idea the last two times, and the voters will reject the idea this time.”
 
Carpenter has a history of trying to solve every problem with more spending and more bureaucracy.  When Carpenter was first elected Treasurer, her first move before even entering office was to push for “an extra $100,000 to hire a third deputy in the office, breaking her campaign promise to bring efficiency to the operation without incurring additional costs to taxpayers.” (Newsday, 11/21/05)  Earlier this year, Carpenter “dropped jaws of Levy administration aides…when she put forward a budget request that increased her department’s spending a whopping 20.53 percent.”  (Newsday, 7/10/11)  Now, she wants to create another high-level bureaucratic job for a crony called a “Small Business Development Advocate” to layer on top of the existing County bureaucracy.
 
While Carpenter’s plan does not contain any specific ideas to create new private sector jobs, she does lay out six specific new plans and reports she will task the bureaucracy with creating: 10 Year Economic Development Plan, 10 Year Capital Strategy, Five Year Financial Plan, Annual Report to the Taxpayer, Quarterly Financial Plan, and a “portfolio” of Suffolk County assets.  Carpenter also notes that upon taking office, she intends to travel the County and meet with business owners.
 
“While Angie Carpenter is dreaming up new reports for bureaucrats to write, Steve Bellone has actually been traveling the County and meeting with small business owners while offering real solutions to cut red tape so businesses can create jobs,” Schaffer said.  “Steve understands that Suffolk County doesn’t need more reports and bureaucracy, it needs a proven leader who will do what he has done in Babylon – work with businesses to create private sector jobs.”