The data is clear that rising state and local tax burdens drive wealthy  households from states. The steadily rising state and local tax burden in Delaware is problematic.

Delaware has the eighth highest Medicaid expense per capita of the continental states according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.  It is expected the state will spend $680 million in the 2012 fiscal year, 40% higher than the $487 million spent in 2010 (the federal government also spent over $700 million on Medicaid in Delaware in 2010).  More money is spent on Medicaid than education and it is the fastest growing budget item.              Delaware offers more generous benefits

CRIs proposals to bring efficiency to the States Prison System.

Less than half of Delawareans receive unemployment insurance benefits when they lose their job. The claims process is time consuming and demeaning for many. Errors in payment and outright fraud waste millions. There is a better way. Personal Unemployment Accounts (UA), run like a 401K or IRA, can provide an attractive alternative. The bulk of payments are put aside in an interest bearing account managed by a private company or the state pension fund. Payments are made from th

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

The Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement can routinely obtain your DNA as if it were fingerprints. Are you aware that fingerprints are required of all doctors in Delaware and all board members of any organization that has a liquor license and a host of other vocations? Are you aware that your DNA can accurately predict your risks of many diseases, especially some very common cancers? Your DNA can be sequenced in a matter of minutes and more information about your future c

I want to point out an article by Elisabeth Rosenthal  in the New York Times "The $2.7 trillion Medical Bill" ( http://nyti.ms/13bPXcm ) which many people have been asking me questions about. While almost everything said is true, it is neither the whole truth nor the overarching truth.      When you disconnect cost from service, two things happen: First, fees escalate, and second, consumption escalates.  The increased fees and increased volume distort the laws of supply and d

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.

Products made in the EVRAZ Claymont, Delaware, steel mill are less profitable than two other manufacturing facilities in Portland, Oregon, and Regina, Saskatchewan.    As prices and volume slipped from foreign competition, it was an obvious choice to close the Claymont facility. We estimate the net effect of high electric rates and high corporate tax rates add almost 4% to steel plant operating costs in Delaware. That is three-quarters of EVRAZ’s 5.3% before tax earnings in 2