A recent report from the Mercatus Center uses fourteen metrics to assess whether states can meet their short-term bills and long-term obligations. Delaware is poorly positioned with regards to its long-term obligations.   The analysis in the report is based upon FY 2013 data from the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) produced uniformly by every state according to criterion mandated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.   All the CAFR financial statements

A major rule change for RGGI auctions kicks in January 1, 2014, and it will increase auction revenues five to eight fold by 2017. The higher cost will show up in electric bills in nine northeast states. These states already have industrial electricity costs 30 to 96% higher than the average state making it hard to compete for job growth. This will add $40 a year to residential customer bills but could add $1 million a year to some large industrial companies. RGGI states have

Dear Friends, Associates, and Donors:   As of the close of business today, Friday, August 2, 2013 my tenure with the Caesar Rodney Institute ends. After five and a half years of affiliation serving as a Founding Director, Chairman & CEO and most recently, as acting Executive Vice President, it is important that the new crew on the ship’s bridge not include a holdover navigator.   When I was approached by the founder of CRI, Bradley Berg, in March of 2008 to become the third m

In a May 2012 report the Institute for Justice ranked all the states with regards to barriers to entry to low- and moderate-income occupations. Delaware had the 42 nd most burdensome licensing laws and was the 25 th most extensively and onerously licensed state. The report documents the license requirements for 102 low- and moderate-income occupations—such as barber, massage therapist and preschool teacher—across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.   It finds that o

The Caesar Rodney Institute will be celebrating its Fifth Anniversary at our Annual Dinner on Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at the Wilmington Country Club, Greenville, Delaware.  Please mark your calendar and plan to share this special event with us!  Invitations and details to follow shortly. Caesar Rodney Institute Share

Since Delaware has had 15 consecutive years of conservative governors followed by 18 years of progressive governors, it is an interesting case study. Do the differences in the governance philosophies have consequences for Delaware’s economy?   A simple answer to this question is to consider the differences in the major measures of economic performance for Delaware between these two time periods. While this simple approach doesn’t control for all intervening factors, both peri

CRI and the Center for Excellence in Education is pleased to invite you to our first in a series of conversations about improving literacy in Delaware.   Dr. Matthew Ladner, a nationally recognized leader in education renewal, will share his experience with successful programs that have positively impacted the performance of students, particularly minority and low income students.   This free event will be held in the Kent Room at Dover Downs from 11:30am to 1:30pm.  A deli s

The Caesar Rodney Institute is pleased to announce the hiring of Dr. Christopher D. Casscells as Director of the Center for Health Care Policy. CRI made filling this position a high priority after realizing the need to explain sound health care policies to the public in the wake of the Affordable Care Act ruling being upheld. In addition to questions that need to be answered surrounding the Supreme Court’s decision, there will be many additional issues in Delaware addressing

DOVER, DE - Cause of Action, a Washington D.C.-based legal advocacy group, has filed suit today in US Federal Court, District of Delaware, against Governor Jack Markell and five members of the Delaware Public Service Commission. The Caesar Rodney Institute (CRI), a Delaware-based non-partisan think tank, has challenged the merits of utilizing high-cost Solid Oxide Fuel Cells to produce electrical power for sale to ratepayers of Delmarva Power, Delaware's largest energy utilit

Yesterday, the Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board voted to uphold Secretary O'Mara's decision to grant Bloom Energy the right to build their Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, called Bloom Boxes, on nine acres of land near the coastal zone.  Bloom Energy says their boxes will be good for the environment, will lower energy costs, and will create jobs in the state.  The Board decided this was good enough for them, and denied John Nichols standing, despite the fact that five hours earli