Center for Economic & Fiscal Policy

 

• Over the past 20 years, Delaware’s per capita income has gone from the highest in the nation to below the national average.

 

• According to the Delaware Department of Labor, employment is projected to grow at only 0.5% over the next decade, thereby trailing most of the nation.

 

• Since 2009, Delaware has had five recessions compared to one in the rest of the country.

 

• Including the variable Gross Receipts Tax, small business owners in Delaware often pay the highest personal income tax rates in America. 

 

In partnership with other like-minded Delaware organizations, the primary goals of this Center are to develop bi-partisan strategies and alternative policy options that will bring transparency, regulatory reform, and improved effectiveness to the tens of billions of dollars spent by the State every year.

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The BRAC Effect | 11/28/2018

The national base realignment and closure program (BRAC) is transforming the Aberdeen Proving Ground into a major center for high tech research and development. Employment at Aberdeen will hit about 22,000 by late 2011. The bulk of these employees will be civilians in occupations such as computer sc...

The BRAC effect | 11/28/2018

Will the tremendous expansion at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds impact Delawares economy?
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The futility of raising taxes | 11/28/2018

Delaware state tax revenue has consistently hovered around 5.5% of gross state output. The bottom line is that citizens and businesses are creative and find ways to limit the total government takes out of their pockets.
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Projected employment growth rates | 11/28/2018

Given two very different decades of performance, how do we expect employment in Delaware to perform in the coming years?
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Does Delaware manufacturing need a helping hand? | 11/28/2018

The significant drop in Delaware manufacturing jobs over recent decades is a result of competitive market forces in the face of which goverrnment subsidies would have had no lasting effect.
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Delawares economy and the RPS | 11/28/2018

This is a poor time to experiment with new energy regulations such as the RPS (Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards). The stark reality is that Delaware’s economy is in very serious straits. Delaware has fewer jobs today than it did a decade ago. Over that decade unemployment has gone from 3.3...

Is Delaware Manufacturing DOA? | 11/28/2018

Despite absorbing some blows, manufacturing in Delaware has survived and it appears that better days are ahead. Over the past two decades Delaware manufacturing employment has plummeted from 48,000 to 26,000, an astounding decline of over 40%. Scanning the landscape, Delaware no longer has an autom...

Do state and local governments feel our pain? | 11/28/2018

The most recent benchmarked data does little to evidence that state and local government is recognizing the true impact of the recent recession. As shown in the chart below, as private sector employment in the nation and the Delaware region dropped from 2007 through 2009, state and local government ...

Making the Case for Changing U.S. Policy Regarding Highly Skilled Immigrants | 11/28/2018

Highly skilled immigrants to the United States (“HSIs”) have helped catalyze American economic growth and advances in human welfare by generating knowledge and innovations that have spawned new products, services, systems, jobs, and wealth. A number of studies document that HSIs are ...

The Christiana Mall salutes Pennsylvania | 11/28/2018

The sales tax in Pennsylvania is a hefty 6%, while because of the gross receipts tax, the perception is that the sales tax in Delaware is zero. How much of an impact does this have on retail trade in Delaware?   The chart within the full article compares retail sales per $1,000 of residenti...