Delaware needs jobs and we need to look no further than Texas to see how to get them, reduce regulations, lower taxes and encourage small businesses to grow and expand. There are two practical ways that the General Assembly and Governor Markell can get Delaware on the fast track to recovery: Pull out of RGGI and Obamacare. Representative Jack Peterman had a bill (H.B. 86) last year that would have accomplished the first part of this and Representative Deborah Hudson submitted a bill, the Delaware Health Freedom Act (identical to H.B. 353 from 2010) that would have allowed Delaware citizens and businesses to opt out of Obamacare.
What stopped these bills? In the case of Rep. Hudson's bill, it was killed in committee two years in a row by the House leadership. The split was along party lines with Democrats objecting and Republicans supporting. In the case of Rep. Peterman's bill, it was tabled by John Kowalko's energy committee which is made up of 5 Democrats and 3 Republicans.
The bottom line here is that in 2011, Delaware Democrats killed two bills that would have immediately ADDED jobs in Delaware and instead relegated us to massive layoffs and barely hanging on to our already too high unemployment rate. The fact is that nothing is going to change until we change it and what needs to change is the leadership in Dover. We've got too many legislators who are really nothing more than glorified lobbyists for unions, state & local governments and special interest groups. It's time to replace double dippers like John Viola (my opponent) with fresh ideas and people who aren't beholden to special interest groups.
If you help me get to Dover, I will cast my first vote for NEW leadership in Dover. I'll vote for fresh ideas and a new approach to job creation and with enough other like-minded representatives from around the state, we'll build a new leadership team and we'll work with our colleagues and with Jack Markell to make sure that these things get done and that Delaware moves forward on job creation and economic growth. Delaware needs us, let's work together to make sure that we put Delaware back to work.
http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis146.nsf/vwLegislation/HB+86/$file/legis.html?open – HB 86
http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis145.nsf/vwLegislation/HB+353/$file/legis.html?open – HB 353
Showing posts with label regulation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label regulation. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Job Losses and Toll HIkes: Markell's legacy of pain
Since Jack Markell took office in 2008, following 8 years of the most corrupt administration in Delaware's modern history, Delaware has indeed experienced "change". Both Governor Markell and President Obama promised a healthy dose of change in their 2008 campaign. For my money, I'd trade all of the change they gave us for some jobs.
Since Jack Markell took office and named Alan Levin as Secretary of the Delaware Economic Development Office, Delaware has experienced a net loss of 36,000 jobs. That means that today, there are 36,000 Delawareans who cannot find work. Meanwhile, as the layoffs keep coming, Markell and Levin do nothing. Markell just inked a deal with China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, to invest in Delaware bio tech. In reality, this deal doesn't do squat to create jobs. It provides Markell with a photo op and a favorable news story which gives the appearance of him actually doing something. If anything does come of it, Markell has just invited China, America's largest debt holder, to purchase their way into the Delaware economy. Since Markell took office, Delaware's industrial footprint has died. Some may think that is by design, and while that might seem outrageous, there certainly has been a real and wholesale loss of blue collar jobs in Delaware's private sector. I find it difficult to believe that Markell and Levin don't WANT to create jobs but I submit to you that GM and Chrysler (closed in 2008 under the Minner Administration where Markell served as Treasurer) left the state which left thousands of Delaware Autoworkers without jobs, Valero closed and shed nearly 1000 jobs, HSBC and Wilmington Trust cut more than 1200 jobs, DuPont and AstraZeneca have laid off more than 1,000 workers and scores of small businesses around the state have closed. Even with the purchase of the Chrysler plant by U of D, Fisker moving into the GM Plant and the new owner of the Valero plant moving in, Delaware faces a net loss of 36,000 jobs. In January alone, Delaware shed 700 jobs and the unemployment percentage stayed flat at 8.5%. Even the News Journal, not known for displaying the failures of Delaware Democrats, has had to admit that the employment picture in Delaware is not good. The Markell Administration has consistently talked about the budding Delaware bio tech industry, green energy jobs, healthcare and financial services as being Delaware's economic future yet the only thing materializing in those areas is government spending and job cuts. Healthcare dropped 600 jobs in January while banks and finance companies have been shedding Delaware jobs by the thousands since the passage of the financial regulatory bill.
Regulations, especially as they pertain to the environment in Delaware have increased and so has Delaware's spending. In fact, Delaware's personnel costs and the cost of government services are so high that there isn't an opportunity for the state to commit to creating a pro-business climate. Markell and the General Assembly have been content to focus on social issues like homosexual equality and gimmicks like Markell's bottle bill rather than to address Delaware's problems with job creation and spending. In 2011, Delaware faces a $377 million budget shortfall that must be closed by the General Assembly and the Markell Administration. This is the 3rd straight increase in budget gaps under Markell and his accounting gimmicks and tricks will only work for so long before it becomes undeniable that Delaware has a spending problem. I only hope that enough of us wake up by 2012 to stop this train before it totally derails.
Speaking of shortfalls, DelDOT (whose budget is a mere 8.5% of the entire Delaware budget...dwarfed by education and health and social services) is facing a shortfalls totalling "$1 Billion over the next 5 years and more than $3.7 Billion through 2023" says Jeff Montgomery of the News Journal. State Senator Robert Venables from Laurel doesn't think the General Assembly understands the severity of the problems (and he's a Democrat by the way) and outgoing DelDOT head Carolann Wicks says that "We're now down to the core programs, primarily,". Still, the following excerpt from Jeff's story is chilling:
Since Jack Markell took office and named Alan Levin as Secretary of the Delaware Economic Development Office, Delaware has experienced a net loss of 36,000 jobs. That means that today, there are 36,000 Delawareans who cannot find work. Meanwhile, as the layoffs keep coming, Markell and Levin do nothing. Markell just inked a deal with China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, to invest in Delaware bio tech. In reality, this deal doesn't do squat to create jobs. It provides Markell with a photo op and a favorable news story which gives the appearance of him actually doing something. If anything does come of it, Markell has just invited China, America's largest debt holder, to purchase their way into the Delaware economy. Since Markell took office, Delaware's industrial footprint has died. Some may think that is by design, and while that might seem outrageous, there certainly has been a real and wholesale loss of blue collar jobs in Delaware's private sector. I find it difficult to believe that Markell and Levin don't WANT to create jobs but I submit to you that GM and Chrysler (closed in 2008 under the Minner Administration where Markell served as Treasurer) left the state which left thousands of Delaware Autoworkers without jobs, Valero closed and shed nearly 1000 jobs, HSBC and Wilmington Trust cut more than 1200 jobs, DuPont and AstraZeneca have laid off more than 1,000 workers and scores of small businesses around the state have closed. Even with the purchase of the Chrysler plant by U of D, Fisker moving into the GM Plant and the new owner of the Valero plant moving in, Delaware faces a net loss of 36,000 jobs. In January alone, Delaware shed 700 jobs and the unemployment percentage stayed flat at 8.5%. Even the News Journal, not known for displaying the failures of Delaware Democrats, has had to admit that the employment picture in Delaware is not good. The Markell Administration has consistently talked about the budding Delaware bio tech industry, green energy jobs, healthcare and financial services as being Delaware's economic future yet the only thing materializing in those areas is government spending and job cuts. Healthcare dropped 600 jobs in January while banks and finance companies have been shedding Delaware jobs by the thousands since the passage of the financial regulatory bill.
Regulations, especially as they pertain to the environment in Delaware have increased and so has Delaware's spending. In fact, Delaware's personnel costs and the cost of government services are so high that there isn't an opportunity for the state to commit to creating a pro-business climate. Markell and the General Assembly have been content to focus on social issues like homosexual equality and gimmicks like Markell's bottle bill rather than to address Delaware's problems with job creation and spending. In 2011, Delaware faces a $377 million budget shortfall that must be closed by the General Assembly and the Markell Administration. This is the 3rd straight increase in budget gaps under Markell and his accounting gimmicks and tricks will only work for so long before it becomes undeniable that Delaware has a spending problem. I only hope that enough of us wake up by 2012 to stop this train before it totally derails.
Speaking of shortfalls, DelDOT (whose budget is a mere 8.5% of the entire Delaware budget...dwarfed by education and health and social services) is facing a shortfalls totalling "$1 Billion over the next 5 years and more than $3.7 Billion through 2023" says Jeff Montgomery of the News Journal. State Senator Robert Venables from Laurel doesn't think the General Assembly understands the severity of the problems (and he's a Democrat by the way) and outgoing DelDOT head Carolann Wicks says that "We're now down to the core programs, primarily,". Still, the following excerpt from Jeff's story is chilling:
Filling the budget gap without cutting back on projects would require more than $169 million in new revenue just for the budget year that begins July 1, an amount DelDOT officials said could be raised with $85 million in new taxes or fees and an additional $85 million in borrowing.
By 2023, however, the single-year shortfall could grow to nearly $498 million.
Confining DelDOT spending only to "core" maintenance, safety, operating and vehicle replacement spending would still leave a $125 million gap next year that would rise to a cumulative $545 million by 2016 and nearly $1.4 billion by 2023, officials said.
State officials have blamed a combination of rising costs, growing demand for services, inadequate funding and rising debt-service payments for the trust fund's quandary. Payments on past loans and interest alone now amount to about $123 million a year.
Folks, this is STAGGERING. Even if we ONLY spent money on core services from DelDOT, we're looking at a $125 million gap in 2012. That's no new roads, no updates that aren't critical, no new bus routes, etc. The blame from the state officials goes not on poor planning, excessive borrowing and administration failures but on the INTEREST for the debt they ran up. Folks, the payments for the past debt alone total $123 million per year. So next time you hear that Delaware's financial situation is better than the federal government and that we have nothing to worry about, remember that DelDOT...who makes up just 8.5% of the state budget pays out an amount equal to about 1/3 of the FY2012 budget shortfall.
There is an interesting sidebar in Jeff's story:
TOP REVENUE-GENERATING OPTIONS
Impose $1 per barrel fee for crude oil barge transfers in Delaware Bay: $100 millionRaise Del. 1 weekday toll to $2, weekend toll to $3: $36.4 millionRaise all I-95 tolls by $1: $24.5 millionShift DelDOT operating funds from Trust Fund to General Fund: $14.1 million yearly for 10 years
Eliminate trade-in discount for new vehicle document fee: $12.2 million
Charge toll for new Indian River Inlet bridge: $7.6 million
Hike vehicle registration fee by $10: $6.7 million
Raise Del. 1 commercial vehicle toll by $1: $4.5 million
Increase gas tax by 1 cent: $4.5 million
Shift Paratransit service costs to General Fund: $4.3 million yearly for 10 yearsHIGHEST-RANKED TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND REVENUE OPTIONS
$1 increase in Del. 1 commercial tolls: $4.5 million10 percent fee on sale of Delaware tags: $15,000Illegal sign fees: $9,000Shift Paratransit service costs to General Fund: $4.3 million yearly for 10 yearsDouble current $25 fee for driver's license suspension reinstatement: $510,000$10 additional for driver's license permanent renewal: $87,000Increase revocation reinstatement to $200 from $143: $230,000Double late registration renewal fee to $20: $831,000Double over-size vehicle permits to $40: $903,000Double fee for paratransit trips outside regular transit corridor: $2.1 million
These are the ways that the special planning board that the Markell Administration created has come up with to "fix" the problems. You'll notice that there are a lot of fee increases and toll charges but no real cuts. Oh, and you'll see that they recommend shifting costs...which only hides the costs in the General Fund budget instead of spotlighting it like the rest of the transportation spending.
This is how Delaware Democrats deal with our problems. They bury them. We saw it with Chris Coons in New Castle County as we are finding out, his accounting gimmicks masked the fact that our County is bankrupt and in danger of becoming insolvent and we've seen it now at the state level. The only way we're ever going to fix our problems is to make big changes in the way we do things. Delaware is in trouble. We've got to cut spending, cut regulations to bring jobs back to the state immediately and reduce the size and scope of government at all levels. If we don't make some real changes, face some pain today and get our house in order, we're going to face FAR worse pain in the future.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Response to the SOTU (and to Gov. Markell's SOTS)
Our nation still stands. While other nations around the world are collapsing like dominoes in a chain, America remains a land of freedom and a place where men can rule themselves by law. The foundations of America put in place by our founders and the genetic spirit of liberty passed down through our nations DNA remains strong. With that said, our state and our nation are in crisis. Rampant overspending has taken root and we have drifted away from the principles on which our nation was founded. Those principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility and free markets have been replaced by a massive and ever growing government, reckless fiscal policy and government intrusion into almost every industry.
The 2008 election was won with the motto of "Hope and Change" and too many of us are still waiting to see those things happen. Congress passed a huge universal healthcare bill that nearly 70% of the nation disapproved of and while the Congress removed SOME of the more divisive provisions, like federal funding for abortions and the public option, the Obama administration is working them back in through regulations. In the last SOTU our President chastised the Supreme Court and divided the nation. In Delaware a long term political icon, former Congressman Mike Castle was defeated by a challenger who embraced the TEA Party values (those original principles of our nations founding). By November 2010, America took the "hope and change" mantra into its own hands. They elected conservative leadership, most backed by TEA Party groups across the country. It happened in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia but it missed Delaware.
The national debt stands at more than $14 Trillion and Delaware's debt is $9 Billion. Our elected officials have only grown MORE irresponsible over time and they have spent, spent, spent and taxed, taxed, taxed without remorse. New Castle County has blown through almost all of their $200 Million surplus and their answer? Raise fees and maybe taxes. Folks, the time for a discussion about fiscal responsibility is here. The Obama administration has spent $4 Trillion in 3 years. His spending habits have trickled down to the states. Delaware has a Constitutionally mandated balanced budget. That means that the state legislature MUST balance the budget every year. Sounds great right? The problem is that every year our structural deficit (that's the amount our state "overspends") grows every year. Last year it was over $200 Million and we expect it to be more than $300 Million this year. Last year state workers took a 2.5% pay cut and a myriad of taxes and fees were raised to close the gap. Delaware even got deeper into the gambling business and still we are more than $300 Million overspent this year.
What our nation needs now is a fiscal intervention. We must get in touch with our inner Calvin Coolidge. Now is the time to roll back spending and get our debt under control. Delaware must live up to our nickname "The First State". We must lead the nation into prosperity by reestablishing fiscal sanity. It's time to get our public employee pensions under control and back in line with the private sector. We must ensure that our state is debt free. Our federal government must do the same. We must roll back spending and cut in EVERY department. Yes, even the Department of Defense must make cuts. That doesn't mean we should leave our nation unsecured. We must maintain the security of the nation but there are plenty of areas where we can cut fraud, waste and abuse, out of date programs and overpriced services. Our nation prospered for more than 100 years without massive government spending by relying on the goodness of our society and placing the trust largely in faith based organizations. Americans are the most generous people in the world, especially to our own people. It's time that we take back the responsibility of caring for one another from the government. This is not all theatrics and theoretical either. There is a practical reason to reduce our spending. Reducing our spending will lead to the elimination of our debt. This stabilizes our economy, protects the value of our currency and it leads to more certainty in the markets. Spending cuts alone, like tax cuts alone, are only a temporary fix. There is a ceiling when one is undertaken without the other. That's why our state and federal taxes should be reduced by at least 10% across the board, our state and national corporate taxes should be eliminated at least for 24 months and our state and national death taxes abolished. Cutting taxes puts more money back into the pockets of individuals and businesses who will invest in more innovation and increase the economic output of America. Further, every time taxes are cut, under Reagan, under Kennedy and under Coolidge, revenue to the government has increased. The greatest benefits were realized under Coolidge when spending AND taxes were cut. Then, America REALLY prospered.
Cutting spending and taxes will by extension cut the size and scope of government at all levels. Under the Obama administration, we have seen an expansion of executive power not seen since Teddy Roosevelt. Anything that the administration wants, that the Congress cannot pass, the administrations regulatory czar Cass Sunstein does with regulations. We've seen it with provisions in the healthcare bill like death panels and with restrictions on energy usage and pollution. We must shrink the power that the federal government holds back to where it was intended to be. Government was never intended to be efficient because government is powerful. The more efficient it becomes, the more control it usurps and the more liberty we lose. In Delaware the state is likewise becoming too large. They are telling us where we can use the phone, where we can smoke and what we can throw away. Our lives are becoming decided by bureaucrats instead of ourselves. We must take back responsibility for our own care. Our founders believed that man could rule himself and I agree. It's our time, we must seize the day.
Our markets face an increasing encroachment by the federal government. Our auto industry, banking industry and our energy industry are all but under the direct control of our federal government. Labor unions now control the auto industry and our teaching corps and they have formed an unholy alliance with the Obama Administration. The time is now to end this encroachment, get the government out of our markets. Our federal government needs to get out of our industries, reduce burdensome regulations and create a fiscal climate where the private market can thrive and grow. Here in Delaware, we've heard more than our fair share of times that Delaware is creating a "partnership" with business. I must respectfully ask, where's the beef? Corporations like GM, Chrysler, Valero and now HSBC are fleeing Delaware left and right. I think it's time that Delaware's government did what it said it would. I think it's time that the state created a climate where private business can thrive.
You can listen to President Obama and Governor Markell and you can take in their words and what you will end up with is....9.8% national unemployment (8.5 in Delaware) and jobs leaving the state and nation like water over Niagara Falls or you can listen to our founders and return to their original principles and get real prosperity.
The 2008 election was won with the motto of "Hope and Change" and too many of us are still waiting to see those things happen. Congress passed a huge universal healthcare bill that nearly 70% of the nation disapproved of and while the Congress removed SOME of the more divisive provisions, like federal funding for abortions and the public option, the Obama administration is working them back in through regulations. In the last SOTU our President chastised the Supreme Court and divided the nation. In Delaware a long term political icon, former Congressman Mike Castle was defeated by a challenger who embraced the TEA Party values (those original principles of our nations founding). By November 2010, America took the "hope and change" mantra into its own hands. They elected conservative leadership, most backed by TEA Party groups across the country. It happened in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia but it missed Delaware.
The national debt stands at more than $14 Trillion and Delaware's debt is $9 Billion. Our elected officials have only grown MORE irresponsible over time and they have spent, spent, spent and taxed, taxed, taxed without remorse. New Castle County has blown through almost all of their $200 Million surplus and their answer? Raise fees and maybe taxes. Folks, the time for a discussion about fiscal responsibility is here. The Obama administration has spent $4 Trillion in 3 years. His spending habits have trickled down to the states. Delaware has a Constitutionally mandated balanced budget. That means that the state legislature MUST balance the budget every year. Sounds great right? The problem is that every year our structural deficit (that's the amount our state "overspends") grows every year. Last year it was over $200 Million and we expect it to be more than $300 Million this year. Last year state workers took a 2.5% pay cut and a myriad of taxes and fees were raised to close the gap. Delaware even got deeper into the gambling business and still we are more than $300 Million overspent this year.
What our nation needs now is a fiscal intervention. We must get in touch with our inner Calvin Coolidge. Now is the time to roll back spending and get our debt under control. Delaware must live up to our nickname "The First State". We must lead the nation into prosperity by reestablishing fiscal sanity. It's time to get our public employee pensions under control and back in line with the private sector. We must ensure that our state is debt free. Our federal government must do the same. We must roll back spending and cut in EVERY department. Yes, even the Department of Defense must make cuts. That doesn't mean we should leave our nation unsecured. We must maintain the security of the nation but there are plenty of areas where we can cut fraud, waste and abuse, out of date programs and overpriced services. Our nation prospered for more than 100 years without massive government spending by relying on the goodness of our society and placing the trust largely in faith based organizations. Americans are the most generous people in the world, especially to our own people. It's time that we take back the responsibility of caring for one another from the government. This is not all theatrics and theoretical either. There is a practical reason to reduce our spending. Reducing our spending will lead to the elimination of our debt. This stabilizes our economy, protects the value of our currency and it leads to more certainty in the markets. Spending cuts alone, like tax cuts alone, are only a temporary fix. There is a ceiling when one is undertaken without the other. That's why our state and federal taxes should be reduced by at least 10% across the board, our state and national corporate taxes should be eliminated at least for 24 months and our state and national death taxes abolished. Cutting taxes puts more money back into the pockets of individuals and businesses who will invest in more innovation and increase the economic output of America. Further, every time taxes are cut, under Reagan, under Kennedy and under Coolidge, revenue to the government has increased. The greatest benefits were realized under Coolidge when spending AND taxes were cut. Then, America REALLY prospered.
Cutting spending and taxes will by extension cut the size and scope of government at all levels. Under the Obama administration, we have seen an expansion of executive power not seen since Teddy Roosevelt. Anything that the administration wants, that the Congress cannot pass, the administrations regulatory czar Cass Sunstein does with regulations. We've seen it with provisions in the healthcare bill like death panels and with restrictions on energy usage and pollution. We must shrink the power that the federal government holds back to where it was intended to be. Government was never intended to be efficient because government is powerful. The more efficient it becomes, the more control it usurps and the more liberty we lose. In Delaware the state is likewise becoming too large. They are telling us where we can use the phone, where we can smoke and what we can throw away. Our lives are becoming decided by bureaucrats instead of ourselves. We must take back responsibility for our own care. Our founders believed that man could rule himself and I agree. It's our time, we must seize the day.
Our markets face an increasing encroachment by the federal government. Our auto industry, banking industry and our energy industry are all but under the direct control of our federal government. Labor unions now control the auto industry and our teaching corps and they have formed an unholy alliance with the Obama Administration. The time is now to end this encroachment, get the government out of our markets. Our federal government needs to get out of our industries, reduce burdensome regulations and create a fiscal climate where the private market can thrive and grow. Here in Delaware, we've heard more than our fair share of times that Delaware is creating a "partnership" with business. I must respectfully ask, where's the beef? Corporations like GM, Chrysler, Valero and now HSBC are fleeing Delaware left and right. I think it's time that Delaware's government did what it said it would. I think it's time that the state created a climate where private business can thrive.
You can listen to President Obama and Governor Markell and you can take in their words and what you will end up with is....9.8% national unemployment (8.5 in Delaware) and jobs leaving the state and nation like water over Niagara Falls or you can listen to our founders and return to their original principles and get real prosperity.
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