On Jan. 14, Gov. Jack Markell issued an executive order establishing the DEFAC (Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Committee) “Advisory Council on Revenue.” The primary charge to the council is to evaluate whether the state’s principal revenue sources are adequate and appropriately responsive to economic growth, i.e., generating enough money to maintain the state’s desired level of spending.     There is no charge to the council to explore effective and efficient ways t

Delaware Business Times edition "Economy Watch," January 6, 2015. Dr. John Stapleford's article, "Delaware's Economic Outlook," is on Pages 4-5. He summarizes 2014 state economic data and makes projections for 2015.

This article originally appeared in the News Journal and at delawareonline.com . The total inflation adjusted output of goods and services in Delaware rose a mere 0.6% over the past 10 years. This contrasts to 8.2% in Pennsylvania, 16.6% in New York, 34.3% in Texas, and 12.1% across the nation. What accounts for Delaware's poor performance? The simple answer appears to be the industry mix in Delaware compared to these other states. With one exception, the output in all the De

The primary purpose of the Caesar Rodney Institute is to improve Delaware’s economy through state policy reform. We expect this effort to lead to more and better jobs. For some of our citizens, work is not a possibility and they need assistance to get by.  Recently we helped create a new program to help more low-income homeowners obtain assistance in making their homes more energy efficient to lower their energy bills.   The Delaware Health and Human Services Department estim

Overall, Delaware has the 14 th best 2015 business tax climate according to the Tax Foundation. Even more important, as jobs are far more likely to move between contiguous states, Delaware’s tax climate is far better than surrounding states in the region ( see the tabe available in the download link below ). Delaware’s high ranking is due primarily to the absence of a sales tax and consistently low property taxes. Compared to sales tax rates of 6% in Maryland and Pennsylvani

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Caesar Rodney Institute, I am delighted to announce that Dr. John E. Stapleford has been appointed as President of CRI. As many of you know, in addition to his career as an economist on the faculty at the University of Delaware and with Moody's, John was one of the founders of CRI, has served on the CRI Board, as the Director of CRI's Center for Economic Policy Analysis and, most recently, on CRI's Advisory Council.  As President of

Liberty Foundation of Oklahoma ( http://libertyfound.org/ ) today released data on the labor force participation rates from 1999 through 2013 for all states. The trends in Delaware are disturbing (click on the link below for the depressing statistics).   The participation in the labor force by Delaware residents has been on a long downward spiral. Using the last 10 years of complete data (2002-12) Delawares total labor force participation rate has fallen 5.8%.   Reflecting th

Georgetown- The changes DNREC proposed under then-Secretary Colin O'Mara, also a named defendant, would substantially increase electric bills in Delaware. The Judge held that the Plaintiffs, led by the David T. Stevenson, the Caesar Rodney Institute's Policy Director of the Center for  Energy Competitiveness, possess standing to continue their lawsuit against DNREC  and O'Mara. The plaintiffs allege that  DNREC, under O'Mara's leadership, raised electric rates for Delaware ra

A new study says Delaware can benefit from offshore drilling with minimal environmental impact, WILMINGTON- A new study by Dr. Timothy Considine, Distinguished Professor of Energy Economics, in conjunction with the Interstate Policy Alliance, published on the merits of offshore drilling should act as a conversation starter about drilling for oil and gas off the Atlantic coast. The U.S. Department of Interior is considering offering lease sales off the Atlantic seaboard for oi

Contact: Samuel Friedman Communications Director (302) 273-0080 sam@caesarrodney.org   Poll Headlines National Employee Freedom Week’s Grassroots Campaign to Educate Union Employees about their Rights   Newark- Eighty-two percent of Delawareans support allowing union employees to leave their union without force or penalty, a concept generally referred to as right-to-work. That's the finding of a new poll, released today by the Caesar Rodney Institute as part of National Emplo