Delaware Manufacturing Job Growth Opportunity   By  Charlie Copeland , Co-Director Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending June 30, 2021     Delaware has suffered a 31% decline in high-paying manufacturing jobs over the last 18 years. With federal funds from Covid stimulus legislation and tweaks to the State's site and business permitting process, Delaware could position itself for decades of manufacturing job growth. The Situation today   Delaware, it

The Blockchain and Digital Assets- Critical to Delaware   by Charlie Copeland Co-Director Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending May 19, 2021     DELAWARE IS SITTING ON A POT OF GOLD!   In Q1 2021, according to the Wall Street Journal, $2 billion of "digital asset" transactions happened on the  Ethereum network , up from only $94 million the previous quarter.   These "digital asset" transactions were  smart contracts  - the sale and use of tokenized i

How Delaware's $7.5 billion "Shadow Budget" dominates total spending in the first state An exclusive interview with former state legislator Charlie Copeland by CRI April 7, 2021 Did you know that Delaware will spend nearly $12.5 billion over the next year despite a widely-reported “General Fund Budget” of around $5 billion? Did you also know that the difference, $7.5 billion “Shadow Budget,” has almost no legislative oversight or citizen input? Could this be an invitation to

Will Governor Carney's 2021 Budget finally bring an end to Delaware's failing economy?   By  Charlie Copeland Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending January 31, 2021   A growing economy matters for myriad reasons and, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, Delaware's GDP has not grown for a decade. During this same period, Delaware's worker productivity has seen a 6% decline.   Thanks to better public schools, lower personal and business tax

The latest interstate migration data from the IRS for Delaware (2009-10) confirms once again that households vote with their feet. Statewide, Delaware had a net gain of households from the surrounding higher property tax states, bringing a net gain in personal income as well. The leading contributing states to Delaware in terms of net Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) between 2009-10 were: New Jersey (plus $44 million of net AGI into Delaware), Maryland ($42 million), Pennsylvania

Delaware Piles on the Regulations By  Dr. John Stapleford Center for Economic Policy and Analysis By definition, government-imposed regulations are limits to individual and business freedoms. Some regulations are necessary, such as speed limits and mandatory auto insurance. Others are unnecessary, obsolete, or the result of administrative overreach. They should be tossed.   It is widely recognized that more regulations in an economy lead to lower economic growth. Data from th

Don't wager on Delaware's economy By  Dr. John Stapleford Center for Economic Policy and Analysis The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles data on employment, wages, and establishments by industry for each state. The wage data for Delaware tells a dismal story.   Over the past ten years (2009-2019), total private industry wages in Delaware rose 40% compared to 55% across the U.S. The jobs generated in Delaware were disproportionately in lower-wage service industries.   To

Alternative High Frequency Data By  Dr. John Stapleford September 30, 2020   Economic data for states and metropolitan areas are released by the Federal government with a lag of one month to two quarters. So, business economists are always hunting for more high frequency, reliable, cutting-edge indicators. Below are three sources of economic data currently popular, having daily or weekly numbers available.   What do these data sources say about the current state of Delaware's

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) maintains “ Stats America ” with profile data on each state. How has Delaware been performing according to the EDA?   Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP):  Between 2015-2019 Delaware's Real GDP declined 4.2%, the worst performance among all the states.   By industry, Delaware’s output trailed all the states in (a) wholesale trade-loss of automobile and chemical industry manufacturing, (b) information services, (c) and professio

Reference charts for article: Student Test Scores are Color-Blind Dr. John E. Stapleford, Director | 8/24/2020 (CHART SOURCE: Delaware Department of Education)