Since the state of Delaware awarded Fisker Motors an interest free loan of $12.5 million and a $9 million grant, what has transpired and what lessons can be learned from this? Following the loan and grant from the state and a $529 million federal government loan guarantee, things have been ugly. Fisker decided to use government money to build its prototype sports car, Karma, in Finland rather than the United States. Then, two Karmas have literally gone up in flames. Adding in

The Caesar Rodney Institute has updated its Transparency Delaware website with state payroll and vendor data through 2010. A quick glance at the data shows that there will be a great deal to consider. Given the patterns uncovered by the Delaware News Journal in the past, CRI looked at “overtime” pay and “other” pay in the Delaware Department of Corrections in 2010. (“Other” pay includes more than 100 categories, the most important of which are holiday pay, shift differentials

CRI has contended that between the 1998 Uniform Development Code land use regulation and the general practices toward subdivision review, that New Castle County (NCC) government is anti-development. Lack of economic growth has led to very large increases in NCC taxes and fees, encouraging out-migration. Data from the Census Bureau on net migration of persons and adjusted gross income for NCC and Sussex County confirms this. Between 2005 and 2010 NCC lost 5,500 individuals and

Wilmington’s Riverfront Development Corporation (RDC) received $3.5 million through the state’s capital budget in July, bringing the taxpayers’ total investment in the riverfront since 1995 to over $280 million. Now, starting with a $2 million request, the RDC is proposing that taxpayers pick up as much as one-third of the tab for a $39 million hotel at the Riverfront’s public entrance. Is this simply throwing more money down a rat hole?   Certainly, seed capital from governm

The latest IRS data on personal income taxes collected from Delaware residents is for 2009. Examining the data is instructive.   About 14% of the returns were from Delaware households whose adjusted gross income was $100,000 or more. These high income households accounted for 46% of the income and paid 66% of the income taxes. On the other hand, low income households, those with adjusted gross income of less than $50,000, filed 63% of the returns, received 24% of the income,

11/9/2012 In their recent “Fiscal Report Card on America’s Governors,” the CATO Institute gave Delaware’s Governor Markell a “D”. The basis for the grade was that over the past four years the Governor has increased taxes (i.e., personal income, gross receipts, corporate franchise, cigarettes) while plunging ahead on state spending.    Is a “D” a fair grade?   First, the responsibility for the grade of “D” must be shared equally with the state legislature. The legislature pass

The recovery of employment since the 2008 crisis has been unusually slow. The unemployment rate has at last dropped below 7 percent because many have left the labor force. Total employment is still below its 2007 level. Persistent unemployment can be due to structural causes. For example, contraction in housing and retail may reduce jobs in those industries, while there may be expansion in other industries that require skills that the unemployed do not have. Usually this type

This article originally appeared in The News Journal as a Delaware Voice opinion editorial on November 18, 2014. The link is: http://delonline.us/1p1urFA   New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon and Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams are to be congratulated for allowing consultants to produce a frank and stark Economic Development Strategic Plan. The economies of the county and the city cannot rebound without clear recognition of current strengths and weaknesses and a plan to

With the closure of the GM and Chrysler automobile plants, the unions’ share of employment in Delaware has fallen below the national average. But the remaining unions, through their supply of campaign funds, volunteers and votes have the Governor and most of the legislature in their pockets. Union management is willing to disadvantage Delaware’s citizens in order to advantage themselves. What is the evidence? First, even though only one-third of Delaware’s public school eight

Thanks to the generous support of CRI donors and the professional cooperation of the Delaware Office of Management and Budget, the payroll and vendor data in Transparent Delaware has been updated to include 2011. A review of the data shows that some things continued and some things changed substantially.   Orlando George Jr., president of Delaware Tech, remains the highest paid state employee with compensation nearly three times that of Governor Markell. Georges base pay cont