Tag: Delaware Economy
Delaware’s I-495 Closing Brings Attention to State Infrastructure
Monday’s closure of Delaware’s I-495 bridge has brought to attention the ailing state of Delaware’s infrastructure (not to mention America’s infrastructure). It’s no secret that the infrastructure of Delaware and the entire nation is in desperate need of attention and repair, and most state politicians have agreed, yet few have actually taken action on this issue. Governor Markell has repeatedly called for additional focus on Delaware’s infrastructure, and with the recent bridge closing, so have many more members of the state legislature.
The infrastructural issues of Delaware range from our roadways to our waterways, and none of it can be ignored. With a quick google search any person can find several reports and informative pieces on Delaware’s infrastructural shortcomings. 36% of Delaware’s major roadways are in poor or lacking condition, over 20% of our bridges are either structurally deficient or obsolete, and the state has 65 high hazard dams. This is nothing short of extremely concerning.
Jobs in Delaware
The NJ on Sunday begins a series looking at the state of jobs in Delaware, pointing out what we already know — that very low wage jobs are increasing, jobs in the middle are disappearing (or taking much less money) and there is employment in the upper end if you have the right education and skill set. And while the Governor and Alan Levin have been working at “economic development”, there’s been little increase in the kinds of jobs that are most needed here immediately. It is difficult to say that the Governor and his DEDO Director haven’t been working hard at this — I think they have. But most of what passes for economic development since the Great Recession pretty much everywhere is a numbers game — figuring out how to boost the number of jobs in your state without paying much attention to either the quality of those jobs or the ROI any taxpayer subsidy might provide for Delaware taxpayers. Governments are chasing the same limited pool of jobs and working at a classic race to the bottom strategy to get them. Almost all of them are providing taxpayer subsidies to get those jobs in their states, and clawback provisions in case the employer doesn’t fulfill promises are still too rare.
A Path to Good High-Paying Jobs in Delaware
You may not know it, but there is a jobs bill in Dover that can’t seem to get a vote. Speaker Gilligan has been dragging his feet on putting the jobs bill on the floor. I am a little amazed by that fact, since it is a jobs bill that doesn’t even have a fiscal […]
Republicans Score Political Points, Kill Jobs
This just in from the News Journal, an important partner for the wind turbine tower construction project has pulled out of a partnership with Delawind. You may remember that Delawind was attacked by the right-wing here in Delaware because one of their principles is John Carney. Delawind had applied for financing from the state to […]
Governor Markell Discusses Delaware as a Wind Energy Hub
Governor Markell addressed the AWEA’s Offhsore Wind Workshop a few weeks back, highlighting his plans to make Delaware a hub of offshore wind energy expertise and manufacturing. We’ve been enthusiastic about this previously, and we’re still enthusiastic. Starting with the U of D really evolving as a major research center for applied alternate energy strategies, to the Bluewater Wind effort, to work to manufacture components here there is great groundwork to grow a real next generation piece of the economy right here.
Congratulations All Around for Fisker
The press conference/Pep rally for the announcement that the Boxwood Rd. auto plant has just concluded. We will now refer to the plant as the Fisker plant. I am still in a state of shock. It was a tour de force of Delaware politicos. Huge kudos are in order for Governor Markell for his attention to this issue and for putting together this event. Getting Joe Biden was the perfect touch.
Video from the Markell Event
Jack Markell discusses the stimulus, Vince Meconi and civil unions. This should put to rest any idea that he is wishy-washy on civil unions. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnh7IwaO81c[/youtube]
Thoughts from the Reality Check Town Hall March 9
This is the one in Wilmington held Monday night. There were perhaps 50 people in attendance and lots of politicians — Councilwoman Shabazz and Councilman Wright from the City; Representative Plant, Representative Johnson, Representative Keeley from the House and Senator Henry. No Senator Marshall, which was really strange. Governor Markell was late, so the pols […]
Newark, DE First to Use Cars to Power Grid
This is very cool — one of the many challenges to making the electrical grid more efficient is figuring out a way to store electricity. The current grid does not, but you can see there might be production and cost efficiencies in being able to store electricity made when it is cheapest or most efficient […]
Top 5 States Transitioning to the New Economy
And Delaware is number 4 on the list — up from a ranking of 7 in 2007. The top 5 according to this report are: Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation is the think tank responsible for this effort. As reported by Marketwatch: The State New Economy Index […]
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