The latest Gallup Economic Confidence Index (ECI) numbers for Delaware are stark.   Every week Gallup conducts a nationwide survey of consumers. The ECI is based on two questions: the first asking consumers to rate their perceptions of current economic conditions as "excellent," "good," "only fair," or "poor," and the second asking them whether economic conditions in the country are "getting better" or "getting worse." The final ECI is an average of the percentage of consumer

Fridays data release by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Delawares unemployment rate dropping from 9.0% in April to 8.8% in May. This is the second month the First States unemployment rate has declined since hitting the recession peak of 9.2%.

Delaware was awarded $1.463 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. After a year, almost 22% of the three-year stimulus money has been spent. The impact on Delawares economy has been and will remain minimal. The primary purpose of this Act is to maintain government at the expense of the remainder of the economy.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich made good on a major campaign promise by killing the states death tax and eliminating an $8 Billion deficit in the lastest fiscal budget.

Highly skilled immigrants to the United States (“HSIs”) have helped catalyze American economic growth and advances in human welfare by generating knowledge and innovations that have spawned new products, services, systems, jobs, and wealth. A number of studies document that HSIs are disproportionately innovative. Similarly, HSIs are more likely to start and grow companies, which are a vital source of new jobs. Unfortunately, current U.S. policy regarding HSIs—mostly relating

The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) of the Delaware legislature has proposed a 1% hike in the salaries of all state employees…including public education, colleges and universities, and retiree pensions. The estimated $21 million addition to the FY 2013 expenditures (July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013) flies in the face of the state’s fiscal realities. For the current FY 2012 ending in June, state expenditures will have risen 10.4% over FY 2011. State revenue, however, is projected t

Over the past five fiscal years the operating budget of the Delaware Department of Transportation (DELDOT) has grown 18% while inflation rose 7%. So, DELDOT has been living large, yet the winners and losers inside the Department are curious.   The big winner with a 45% budget increase over the five years is the Motor Vehicles administration. Curiously, for those of us who have visited the DMV during the past year, according to their mission statement the DMV embraces “high st

Friday August 5, 2011 will likely be remembered as “the NEW Black Friday” or “THE” Black Friday. On that day, after markets closed, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) fulfilled its previous warning and downgraded the sovereign credit rating of the USA to AA+ from the fifty-years-old AAA.   On Monday the 8 th , the stock market took a tremendous dive in excess of 6% and all the pundits and talking heads blamed it on S&P’s downgrade. Clearly, the downgrade came in handy to justify the s

Delaware is ranked number one in economic freedom among the states in the 6 th edition of the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of North America. Why is this important?

Thanks to no sales tax and low property taxes, Delaware has a competitive business tax climate.