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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Fiscal Prisoners | 11/28/2018

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 “overti...

The Latest State Tax Rankings | 11/28/2018

The Tax Foundation has just released its 2012 Facts and Figures on state finances. The results are below in order of Delaware’s ranking among all the states. Delaware ranks 9th highest in tax collections per capita and 8th highest in debt per capita. The high ranking in tax collections is not...

The State is Charitable with Your Money | 11/28/2018

The Caesar Rodney Institute has updated its Transparency Delaware website with state payroll and vendor data through 2010. Analysis of the pattern of the vendor transactions for 2010 is instructive. State government is a major buyer of the services of nonprofit organizations and a major donor to no...

Delaware Politicians Do What the Unions Tell Them | 11/28/2018

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. U...

Economic Development With No Accountability | 11/28/2018

What would you think of officials who spend tens of millions of your tax dollars every year and never check on whether citizens get what they pay for? That’s what’s happening with Delaware’s questionable program to buy jobs. The state regularly gives your tax dollars to companies ...

Does Sussex County Have a Crime Problem? | 11/28/2018

According to the 2010 FBI Uniform Crime Report, the violent and property crime rates in Delaware are well above surrounding states and the nation. Surprisingly, except for the City of Wilmington, the highest 2010 crime rates are concentrated in Sussex County towns and cities. Expressed as incidents...

Stimulus Smoke and Mirrors | 11/28/2018

Administration economists and officials keep touting the multiplier effects from additional government spending. Extended unemployment benefits generate more than a dollar’s worth of activity in the economy. More agricultural subsidies will pump up economic growth.   This is macroecono...

Rising tax burden drives wealthy households from Delaware | 11/28/2018

The data is clear that rising state and local tax burdens drive wealthy  households from states. The steadily rising state and local tax burden in Delaware is problematic.
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Staring into an Abyss | 11/28/2018

The latest Gallup Economic Confidence Index (ECI) numbers for Delaware are stark.   Every week Gallup conducts a nationwide survey of consumers. The ECI is based on two questions: the first asking consumers to rate their perceptions of current economic conditions as "excellent," &q...

Rising tax burden driving wealthy from Delaware | 11/28/2018

The most recent data from the Tax Foundation shows that Delaware is driving out wealthy residents by raising its state and local tax burden.   Every year the Tax Foundation calculates each state-local tax burden as a percentage of the state’s per capita income. Since 2001 Delaware&rsquo...