The April, 2012 labor market data for Delaware has just been released and the numbers are not encouraging. Compared to April of 2008, four years ago, total employment in Delaware is down by 20,000. Construction jobs are down 40%, manufacturing off 22%, and finance jobs down 6%. Government, of course, is up 2%. Although compared to four years ago the civilian labor force in Delaware is off by 5,000 people, the number of folks unemployed is up by 68%.   Real (inflation-adjusted

Who is Ilya Shapiro? Why Should You Care?             What if someone told you that you have to buy size large seersucker pants?             But maybe you aren’t a large, maybe you don’t like seersucker, maybe you just don’t like being told what to do.             Now instead of pants, it’s healthcare and that someone is the United States government.             Is it really that different?             Does the government have the right and power to tell the American people t

Does America have a government of laws or men? Is Obamacare bigger than Roe v. Wade?   March 14, 2012 Wilmington Country Club Reception - 6:15pm, Dinner - 7:00pm Caesar Rodney Institute 4 th Anniversary Celebration   “I am willing to debate any one, anytime, anywhere, on the constitutional merits of Obamacare.”  - Ilya Shapiro Don’t miss the opportunity to hear Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, as he brings forth the arguments of wh

With one of the highest renewable energy mandates in the nation, Delaware businesses and residents can expect big losses in economic investment, jobs and income, according to a study released jointly today by American Tradition Institute and the Caesar Rodney Institute. The study found that Delawareans would pay $2.34 billion more for electricity between 2017 and 2026 because of the state's RPS, as alternative energy is more costly and unreliable than conventional sources suc

The state of Delaware can realize significant savings and improve the accuracy of its prevailing wage data by shifting from using Delaware Department of Labor’s prevailing wage survey data for state construction projects to wage data collected semi-annually by the DDOL under contract to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (the OES survey). The savings from shifting to the OES survey data would be on construction costs, the unemployment fund, and staff time. Using Delaware’s F

The Caesar Rodney Institute is a non-profit research and education organization dedicated to the measured improvement in the quality of life, the degree of individual liberty, and opportunity for personal fulfillment for all Delawareans. Mr. Barrett Kidner, CRI Chairman and CEO, recently elected a new member to the CRI board of directors; Mr. Joseph J. Oddo.   Mr. Oddo is a recognized thought leader and an information technology professional with a record of implementing busi

What is Effective National Government?   By Richard Spencer, Ph.D.   A major part of the mission that CRI has taken upon itself is dedicated to the measured improvement for individual liberty and personal fulfillment of each Delawarean. That can be largely accomplished through expanding the personal and economic freedoms for each of us.   One would think that would be easy and that it was always the history of the country. It turns out that it isn’t easy and it wasn’t the his

The Caesar Rodney Institute recently issued a commentary on the Death Tax as it pertains to Delaware. Specifically, the tax was reestablished in Delaware during the first session of the 145 th General Assembly.   On December 2, 2009, The Heritage Foundation released a memo containing additional information on the negative impact of the tax. The memo can be viewed here or by clicking the link below.

SunlightOnSchools.org will improve access to information about Delaware’s public schools.   DOVER – The Caesar Rodney Institute today launched, www.SunlightOnSchools.org , a user-friendly Web site that allows all Delawareans to know just how the state’s school districts and charter schools are performing on a variety of measures.   The tool is ideal for parents, educators, and any person interested in knowing how taxpayer dollars are spent in Delaware schools.   In an effort

Improving Public Perception   It is easy for Americans to lose faith in their elected officials. The constant stream of stories of abuse of power, breaking of the public trust and seemingly backwards priorities fuels the nation’s perception of lawmakers.   Certainly, there are many cases in which we should all be skeptical of those we elect to office – or at least, those elected by others. We all know that those we vote into office are not the problem. Right? This shouldn’t b