RELEASE: CRI - Center for Economic Policy and Analysis RE: Raising the Delaware Minimum Wage DATE:  6/14/19   (image source:  timeequipment.com )   Senate Bill 105 is under review by the Delaware Senate Finance Committee. It would raise the State’s minimum wage from the mandated $9.25 per hour (as of October 1, 2019) to $11.00 per hour as of January 1, 2020. The minimum wage would then increase $1 per year until 2024, and thereafter be subject to a cost of living adjustment.

RELEASE: CRI - Center for Economic Policy and Analysis RE: More trouble ahead for State employees DATE:  6/7/19   According to the Boomershine Consulting Group the long bull market has failed to fix public pensions. The simple truth is that the sums owed to retirees are accelerating faster than assets on hand to pay those future obligations. Liabilities of major U.S. public pensions are up 64% since 2007 while assets are up 30%.   Return on pension fund assets were slowed by

RELEASE: CRI - Center for Economic Policy and Analysis   RE: Eliminate the health care CON in Delaware   DATE:  5/16/19     In 1974, Congress passed the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act, which made certain Federal funding conditional upon states implementation of Certificate of Need (CON) laws. These laws require those who wish to open new healthcare facilities, expand existing facilities, or even purchase new equipment to obtain state regulator permissi

RELEASE: CRI - Center for Economic Policy and Analysis   RE: Jobs and Opportunity in Delaware   DATE:  5/14/19   The Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity publishes a Jobs and Opportunity Index (JOI) for all the states monthly. As of March of this year, Delaware ranks 50 th among the states.   Three factors comprise the JOI:  job outlook, freedom, and prosperity. To identify the reason for Delaware’s last place ranking on the JOI, each factor needs to be examined.  

Earl Jaques Response Dated:  5/12/2019   In his May 5, 2019 opinion column, Rep. Earl Jaques, Chairman of the House Education Committee, solicits support for his Bill to permit districts to modestly increase their rates for operating funds without a referendum.  While well-intentioned, passage of this Bill assumes that a lack of funding is the source of our public school system’s poor performance.  Well, it’s not and, if successful, this Bill will exacerbate the problem.   In

RELEASE: CRI - Center for Economic Policy and Analysis RE: Output Flat DATE: 5/9/19 The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis has released its Gross State Product (GSP) figures by state for the fourth quarter of 2018 and Delaware continues a lackluster performance. In inflation adjusted dollars, GSP measures the total output of each state. Over the past three years, 2015Q4 to 2018Q4, total Delaware GSP has retreated -0.4%. Over the same time period gross output across the nation r

RELEASE: CRI - Center for Economic Policy and Analysis RE: Money Walks – A Tale of Two Counties DATE:  5/7/19   The IRS compiles aggregate data on personal income tax returns and, among other things, shows the movement of household adjusted gross income (AGI) among counties. The latest data, 2015-16, paints a divergent tale for Delaware’s most northern and southern counties.   Between 2015-16 net out-migration from New Castle County reduced the County’s total personal income

Your action needed to control electricity prices5/3/2019 David T. Stevenson, CRI Director A bill is expected to be proposed this year to greatly increase a government mandate for more wind and solar power. A hearing has just been scheduled to be held in the Senate Hearing Room in Legislative Hall in Dover Friday, May 10th, from 10 am to 1 pm, to listen to public comment. The comments will be used to support a bill to be released in May. You can bet supporters of this expansio

House Bill 129-- More authority to raise taxes on property owners without a referendum Date:  5/2/2019   When 3 referendums are defeated in the last several months and many more in prior years, I do not believe the first action taken by our legislators is to take the voting rights away from the residents, rather legislators should find out WHY the residents are voting NO.  If this bill passes without first finding out why residents are voting NO and addressing those issues, I