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

Energy Lawsuit Wastes Taxpayer Money By  David T. Stevenson September 23, 2020   Delaware's Attorney General has filed  a lawsuit  against conventional energy companies, including Exxon Mobil, claiming they fraudulently covered up their contribution to manmade global warming. The suit is likely to meet the same fate as a similar lawsuit in New York that simply wasted taxpayer money. The New York Times  reported  the state Supreme Court judge dismissed the case calling the sta

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 11, 2020   US Senate Refrigerant Bill Not Cool   NEWARK, DE -  David Stevenson, Director of the Center for Energy & Environmental Policy at the Caesar Rodney Institute, has responded to the new federal legislation that is being passed which directly ties Delaware Senator Tom Carper and Delaware based Chemours as one of the prime beneficiaries.   " Excursions away from free market principles get really expensive for consumers. An  energy bill  p

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)

Student Test Scores are Color-Blind By  Dr. John Stapleford August 21, 2020   New research reveals that student proficiency test scores for White, Black, and Hispanic eighth graders rise and fall together depending on the overall  socio-economic  status within each middle school's attendance pool.   Across the states, eighth graders are required to take the  National Assessment of Educational Progress  (NAEP) test. For nearly the past 20 years, NAEP has consistently recorded

New "Fuel Economy Standards" provide safer, less expensive vehicles   By  David T. Stevenson July 30, 2020   The U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency have released a new final fuel economy rule for passenger cars and light trucks that will be a win for consumer choice.  The Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles.   The rule requires average fuel economy of new vehicles to increase by 1.5-percent a year for the model years 2021 to

Long term trends   By  Dr. John Stapleford July 23, 2020 With funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, management guru Michael Porter has compiled time series data on the economic performance of states, counties, and metropolitan areas. The clear data generally starts in 1998 and ends with the latest updates…typically 2018.   After expressing the various measures of economic performance as growth rates, Porter then ranks all the states and counties against e

Flawed Assumptions throughout DE's Climate Action Plan By  David T. Stevenson July 16, 2020 Delaware has been developing a  Climate Action Plan  , and is requesting public input. It is clear DNREC ( Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control) has already decided on a list of action items, most of which are already in place.  Public workshops ask for responses through leading questions, and provide documentation of the climate change issues with flawed assumptio

A Public Service Announcement to the Carney Administration:  Open Delaware NOW   By  Dr. Christopher Casscells   Date:  July 9, 2020 A lack of any specifics on the Phase 3 opening criteria and guidelines for conducting activities suggests that the Carney team is making them up as they go, just as the CDC was doing in the beginning of the pandemic.   That was acceptable then when little was known about the novel coronavirus, but unacceptable now that a great deal is known rega