Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Several times Michael Begatte, who leads AFSCME in Delaware, has been mentioned on this blog. Sometimes he is referred to humorously as Gov. Begatto because of the power he wields in Dover. He was largely responsible for shutting down Governor Markell’s, the man actually elected to the position, miniscule efforts at reducing the future cost of State government.

The following information was compiled by the Caesar Rodney Institute. While small potatoes compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars being wasted on the “double-dippers” in the General Assembly, the numbers are informative as to how the powerful make sure that they take care of themselves, first.

Here are some of the excerpts:

“Between FY-08 and FY-09 (the “great” recession) AFSCME’s membership rose 1% and its direct spending rose almost 17%”

“The executive director receives a salary of $112,028 plus benefits plus an allowance of $12,000. This total package equals 11% of AFSCME’s spending.”

“AFSCME directly spent almost $64,000 on hotels and catering…this is in addition to reimbursed employee expenses.”

“Blue Hen Promotions received around $13,000 for convention services. Blue Hen Promotions president is Sally Oberly [sic], wife of state representative William Oberly [sic] Jr.”

The full report can be found here.

The Delaware State Legislature has been drifting, rudderless, and has fallen asleep at the helm.  And it’s all Pete du Pont’s fault.

Pete du Pont was elected Governor of Delaware in 1976 and served for eight years.  While in office, he balanced the budget, passed a balanced budget amendment, began the process of slashing the state income tax top rate from 17.5% to 5.95% and held year-to-year spending increases to 1%.  As a result, state revenues increased by more than 300%.  He passed a banking bill designed to attract 2 New York banks and 1,000 jobs but attracted 30 banks and 43,000 jobs.  By the end of du Pont’s term, Delaware had a vibrant and diversified economic portfolio that included auto manufacturing, chemicals, banking and a growing expertise in corporate registration and litigation.  In short, Pete du Pont set Delaware on an unprecedented 25 year run of prosperity.

The problem is Pete du Pont’s 25 year run of prosperity started 30 years ago.  Now the State Legislature, which in many cases, is still comprised of politicians originally elected during the golden years immediately following du Pont’s term, has coasted for too long.

The core industries of that prosperity have dwindled. The chemical industry, once the frontrunner in the First State, peaked in 1993.  The Dupont Company once employed over 28,000 here, but now employs less than 8,000.  Hercules is gone.

Automotive manufacturing peaked in 1995.  Now Chrysler and GM are gone and no automobiles are manufactured in the First State.

The banking industry reached its high water mark in Delaware in 2000.  Since then, mergers, acquisitions, a struggling economy and new federal regulations governing the credit card sector have capped the growth of this industry in Delaware.

Delaware’s standing as the corporate domicile of choice has been threatened by the recently passed Financial Reform Act.  An equal threat to the state’s corporate desirability comes from overly aggressive escheat audits, presumably spurred by a state government desperate to make up perceived shortfalls in traditional revenue streams.

Despite an aging economic environment, one aspect of Delaware economic activity continues at a robust pace – state spending.  Delaware ranks 2nd among the 50 states in state spending per citizen, eclipsed only by oil-rich Alaska.  The largest employer in the State of Delaware is the State of Delaware!  Despite the state’s high spending, many services lag behind other states and when services are added, new fees are imposed.  When Delaware decided to institute universal recycling this past year, the state legislature found it necessary to implement a $.04/bottle sales tax on carbonated beverage bottles to finance the start-up costs for the recycling scheme.

A similar situation exists in our schools – Delaware is 1st in administrative cost per pupil, 8th in overall cost, but 27th in test scores and 36th in graduation rates.  Our legislature has authorized payment for champagne but accepted delivery on watered down beer.

We need to revitalize Delaware’s economy, schools and business environment, but Dover doesn’t know how.  That is because the people who are in our legislature never had to.  Our legislature is largely the same one that inherited the Pete du Pont successes.  The average time of legislative service in the Delaware State Senate is 17 years!  Of 21 Senators, 15 have 10 or more years of legislative service and 9 of 21 have more than 20 years of legislative service!  They served during a time of prosperity and do not know what to do in the current situation.  Their long tenure renders them out of touch, inexperienced with basic business common sense, and therefore, unqualified to lead at this time.

Pete du Pont’s greatest accomplishment was establishing a common sense, pro-business attitude in state government in Delaware.  Governor du Pont understood how business works and knew what a good deal looks like.  However, the intervening years of prosperity have caused that business-like attitude to fade from our state government’s landscape.

Like the current administration, Gov. du Pont also faced an automotive crisis with the bankruptcy of the Chrysler Corporation. However, unlike the current administration, his investment was not a “venture capital type’ investment in a start up company, but a correct use of the bankruptcy system to restructure an existing, strong automotive brand. The current administration has jumped in with both feet into a deal where more than $250,000 is being spent for each job. Du Pont likely would have been very hesitant to invest so much of his business development funds in one unproven, experimental basket.  The enormity of developing a completely new automotive technology and marketing it to Americans would also not be lost on him.  Can you say Bricklin?  Can you say DeLorean?

Pete du Pont’s instincts would have led him to invest in a much more diversified business base.  It would not have been as glamorous as the apparent home run of landing 2,700 “green” union jobs all at one time.  But I am sure Pete’s plan would have had a higher return on investment and a more secure future.

Bad politics should not be allowed to trump good business sense.

We need a state government where good business sense and economics trumps politics!  You get that by sending passionate business people to Dover.  You get that be sending people to Dover who have a vision of Delaware as a nimble, fast moving, business-minded successful center for economic development, a place where decisions on taxes, fees, regulations, education and infrastructure all are made with the vision of creating a winning business environment.

We need to become Maryland’s, New Jersey’s and Pennsylvania’s biggest economic problem.

Twenty five years of prosperity has left our current legislature uniquely unable to provide the leadership we need now.  It is time to replace them with new blood prepared for the challenges ahead.

From today’s USA Today (The article can be found here):

Non-financial companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 have a record $837 billion in cash, S&P says. That’s enough to pay 2.4 million people $70,000-a-year salaries for five years. For context, 2.2 million to 2.8 million jobs were saved or created by the $862 billion stimulus that President Obama signed into law in February 2009, according to a report released in April from the Council of Economic Advisers.

First, I’ll forgive USA Today for writing (I assume with a straight face) that the “stimulus” bill created/saved some identifiable number of jobs. Obviously, there were jobs saved, however, at the cost of jobs in the future (debt today is tomorrow’s tax). I’ll forgive USA Today despite the fact that there was a way to create real jobs without the stimulus. Quit attacking corporations. Quit threatening them. Quit taking them over. Quit bailing out the crappy ones. The folks that run these companies didn’t grow stupid overnight (It took years of perverse government incentives instead).

Why are these companies hoarding cash? Because they are scared about the future. They don’t want to put cash at risk and have the rug pulled out from under them. From the article again:

Scared to spend

Companies continue to stockpile cash, in part, because they don’t want to be caught in a bind like many were when credit markets froze in late 2007 through 2009, says Lee Pinkowitz, finance professor at Georgetown University. “Companies want cash for a rainy day,” he says. “People didn’t realize how rainy it could get.”

Meanwhile, cash is ballooning as technology companies have a more significant presence in the economy, Kahle says. Most of the biggest holders of cash are technology firms, including Cisco Systems (CSCO),Microsoft (MSFT)Google (GOOG)Apple (AAPL), Oracle (ORCL) and Intel (INTC), which routinely hold big cash piles to prepare for a sudden shift in technology.

Meanwhile, investors are being more patient than usual with cash-rich companies.

Investors don’t want companies to rush out and invest and hire just because they have cash, says Marc Gerstein, research consultant for market data provider Portfolio 123. “Getting a low return on cash is the second-worst thing companies can do. The worst thing is to waste the cash.”

To make the cash hoarding even worse, the United State’s dual tax regime (The US is one of only a few countries that tax overseas earnings when those earnings are repatriated). These same S&P 500 companies have significant overseas earnings that they refuse to repatriate. They keep the money overseas; they invest the money overseas. Great jobs in China or Indonesia, but not in the United States.

You want jobs? Why don’t you let those with the money spend it.

From the world of just how stupid do they think we are comes the following:

the county is now solvent. On 6/30 the Coons brigade was in Leg Hall fighting with the realtors over taxes and how they had to have more or they’d be filing chapter 11 within weeks; yet today the gov’t is solvent.

C’mon Chris we’re not that dumb. We really aren’t. You’re a smart guy so who talked you into such a imbecilic move?

Evidently, the Delaware Democrat Party runs using the same techniques. The following was sent out by Jud Bennett through his email listserv:

FROM JOANNE CABRY

On July 15, the Delaware Democratic Party issued a press release announcing the party’s endorsement of statewide candidates “following extensive discussion and deliberation at every level of the Democratic Party.” According to the statement, the motions to endorse “passed without opposition.”

To the best of my knowledge, not a single representative district in Kent or Sussex voted to recommend to endorse. For the record, five of the six members of the Executive Committee representing Kent and Sussex did not vote to endorse. I guess that counts as “passed without opposition” to the 16 members who voted to endorse.

The press release goes on to state that “Delaware Democrats feel strongly that we have selected our strongest possible slate for the 2010 general election.” I wonder who that “we” represents. The last I heard we are having a primary in September and on that day Democrats across the state (yes, even those of us below the Canal) will vote for the candidates we want on the Democratic ticket in November.

I think it undemocratic for the executive committee to announce a slate prior to the primary and unfair to exclude information on the party website for candidates they did not endorse.

Joanne Cabry, Rehoboth Beach

Katie Ellis, Delaware Democratic Party, O: (302) 328-9036, C: (302) 353-0807,www.deldems.org

Here is the pathetic Democratic Party of Delaware’s lying email that backs up Cabry’s statement:

Delaware Democratic Party Issues 2010 Candidate Endorsements

Following extensive discussion and deliberation at every level of the Democratic Party, the Party is proud to announce the endorsement of the following candidates for Statewide office this year:

Faced with a wealth of candidates this year, Delaware Democrats feel strongly that we have selected our strongest possible slate for the 2010 General Election. We look forward to a vigorous campaign, and are optimistic that the Democratic Party’s message of economic growth, government accountability, and improving the quality of life for every Delaware resident will resonate with voters and bring continued electoral success.– “

For U.S. Senate, Chris Coons
For U.S. House of Representatives, John Carney
For Attorney General, Beau Biden
For State Auditor, Richard Korn
For State Treasurer, Velda Jones-Potter

Each motion passed without opposition. Delaware Democrats stand united and proud in their support of these candidates.

The “stand united” comment seems a bit inaccurate. Of course, I’m sure that there proud of the continued tradition of shoving their opinions onto everyone else and destroying the State’s economy and prospects in the process.
Clearly not an open process – just like the State Senate. If you’d like change in Delaware, there really is only one place to get it – Republicans.

Please join us for the Challenge Program BBQ and help us celebrate progress on the Challenge Program’s new Construction Training and Education Center!

Barbeque and beverages. Family friendly. Live music. Celebrate progress on the Challenge Program’s new Construction Training and Education Center.

  • Thursday July 29, 2010, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
  • at the Challenge Program
  • 1124 E. 7th St., Wilmington, DE 19801 (the Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard)

Please dress casually. We’re under construction!

RSVP to Chelsea (chelsea@challengeprogram.org)

For more information, check out our website: http://www.challengeprogram.org

The 2010 challengers to three long-serving, out-of-touch, legislators:

Dave Lawson, Louis Saindon, & Fred Cullis

If you want change, then vote out 3 of the Senate’s 20+ year incumbents. Why do I raise the point about change?

In today’s News Journal Mr. Michael Heyman, communications director for Progressive Democrats for Delaware, wrote a brief piece entitled, Sen. DeLuca’s action recalls the days of desk-drawer veto.

The Democrats have controlled the State Senate since 1972 (38 years ago), and the average tenure of a Senate Democrat is about 20 years. If current trends hold, only death seems to remove them from office. I don’t say that with any disrespect to either Senators Adams or Vaughn, but it is a fact. No other Senate Democrat has chosen to walk away from their power position since 2002.

So, let me explain how the selection of Senate Pro-Tem works:

The Senate Democrats have a significant majority in the Senate (13 to 8 when I was there, 15 to 6 now). The Democrats cut the necessary deal in their closed door caucus room as to who the Senate leaders will be. They agree to unanimously support their Pro-Tem decision, therefore guaranteeing that he/she will win on the floor (the Pro-Tem requires a vote of the entire Senate – simple majority). The Republicans are then told, “Vote for the Pro-Tem that we have selected or we will fire your staff, take away your offices, eliminate your committee assignments, cancel your Street Funds (CTF funds), etc.”

Since the Pro-Tem is going to get 11 votes anyway (remember the Democrats already agreed to support their internal choice unanimously), why fight a losing battle and lose staff, committees, offices, etc. It is the beginning of a two year General Assembly, so this decision won’t impact the next election. So, the Republicans also vote for the Pro-Tem giving him/her “unanimous” support.

2002 was an exception because Tom Sharp was retiring, and there was a battle between Thurmond Adams and Patty Blevins. The Democrats were split 6-7 between them. The Republicans were able to play a role and chose a conservative democrat over a liberal democrat. From the deal, we got an extra staffer for ~4 years (and Harris McDowell got to be Majority Leader). Note, both Blevins and Adams would have run the Senate in the same dictatorial fashion. So it wasn’t much of a choice. The choice was between conservative status quo and liberal status quo.

2010 gives a great opportunity to alter this dynamic and shake up the majority so that it is more responsive to the entreaties of people like Mr. Heyman. Vote out Patricia Blevins, David Sokola, and Nancy Cook. The Democrats will still have a majority, but you’ve sent a message that you won’t blindly re-elect the people who unanimously put Tony DeLuca in charge of the State Senate.

To quote from Mr. Heyman:

It’s unfathomable that one man has the unilateral authority to forbid a vote on a bill, then allow it in the next breath — and then forbid it again an hour later. When does it stop?

How much influence does the president pro tem of the senate have? Besides shunting recalcitrant senators off to the least popular and lowest paying committees, there is nothing to stop him from cutting a senator’s staff at will. It was common knowledge in Dover — and it shouldn’t be a surprise — that the unbending former president pro tem, Sen. Thurman Adams Jr., used his heft to anoint his successor. It takes a special senator to stand up to someone with that kind of unbridled authority.

My only quibble with Mr. Heyman’s remarks are that Patty Blevins agreed to the DeLuca deal. She could have made a stab at Pro Tem, but in the end she got what she wanted, anyway. That is, Tony DeLuca did not make the DSU no-vote decision on his own. Or the decision to kill the Rep. Melanie George’s bill that fixes the unjust Mandatory-Minimun drug sentencing scheme and gives addicts a chance to clean up. Patty Blevins was making the decision right there with him.

You say that you want change? Are you ready to walk that talk?

Kate Rokosz (sounds like “raucous” which is what she’ll create when she goes to help straighten up the mess in Dover) is hosting a fundraiser on August 5th at the Old Middletown Academy. The evite can be found here.

Some information on Kate from her website (which can be found here and is also where you can make a donation to her campaign):

Kate Rokosz, candidate for state representative, has been a resident of the district for 20 years as a small business owner, a devoted citizen, and a wife and mother.

She has seen firsthand the difficulties facing our education system. Kate believes in “raising the standards of education, rather than standardizing our students.” By providing districts with flexibility and support, they are best able to address the needs of their students. Kate is also committed to the cause of adult literacy, and believes that the community needs to support programs to improve adult education. Quality education will foster a stronger economy

As a former small business owner in Middletown, Kate has felt the frustrations of bureaucratic burdens on local entrepreneurs, as well as the pain of struggling to make ends meet. Kate is running for office in order to take action on issues important to all members of the community, creating jobs and lowering taxes.

Kate has been an organizer and fundraiser of the Big Ball softball charity tournament for twelve years. She helped to coordinate a September 11th memorial service in 2001, is a proud member of the Middletown-Odessa Rotary Club, and has been a Relay for Life participant. Kate’s an active member and a former youth group leader at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, and she serves on the Middletown Grant Committee. Kate is also an honorary member of the Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown. She has been a faithful and dedicated member of the community, and, with your support, will continue to serve it as its advocate in the Delaware House of Representatives.

We’ve all had to endure the Obama Administration and Markell Administration telling us how many jobs were “saved” by their “stimulus” activities. Even using their fuzzy “math”, the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars per “saved” job is laughable.

Now something new, yesterday while listening to Alan Levin (who is a Republican but works for a Democratic Administration) interviewed on WDEL, I heard a new twist. The DEDO Secretary said that when the Administration is finished with Fiskar Automotive, Delaware City Refinery, and Sallie Mae, they “will have created” 6,100 jobs. Not how many jobs they have created, but ones that they forecast will be created in the future. This future number during the interview was considered a “milestone”.

Taking this logic, former Governor Ruth Ann Minner can also take credit for these jobs. It was her running the State that led directly to Governor Markell’s election as Governor. She exempted Delaware City from the Greenhouse Gas Initiative so that they would stay open. Shoot, then Governor/now Senator Tom Carper can claim credit because he picked Ruth Ann Minner and further developed Delaware as landing site for corporate welfare. But why stop there. Congressman Castle preceded then-Governor Carper and polished up many of the practices and procedures found in DEDO. Of course, Congressman Castle was Pete du Pont’s running mate. Governor du Pont was responsible for the Financial Center Development Act which led to the kind of workforce needed by Sallie Mae. Governor du Pont beat Governor Tribbett, who mismanaged the State’s budget creating an economic basketcase. So, Gov. Tribbett was responsible for Governor du Pont. And so it goes. I just don’t remember any of these previous Governor’s specifically counting future jobs, today. Sure, they said things like “This will be great for the economy and add thousands of jobs..”, but never a specific count.

On the flip side, why limit yourself to only 6,100 jobs. Delaware will, someday, have strong employment growth irrespective of the current economic policies. So, take credit today. Someday, I’m sure 20,000 or 30,000 even 50,000 jobs will be created. Come on. Take credit for it. A new “milestone” — 50,000 jobs will be created as a direct result of the existence of the Markell Administration. Remember, candidate Markell had a plan in his big blue book to create 25,000 jobs during his first term. Take credit for them. Someday, they’ll be here.

Now, I have written in this blog that Gov. Markell’s ability to cut big deals and give out corporate welfare has been successful. I hope that Delaware gets all of the forecast jobs. Plus his deals have gotten him good headlines. He plays the media very well. I do congratulate them on this. But the jobs are not here, yet. Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. It just looks foolish.

In a different vein, one could ask why not give existing Delaware businesses the same tax benefits as these big, well-connected companies have gotten. I could use property tax relief for my business. I could use a subsidy per job created. I could use free worker training. If the Administration had provided these benefits to existing Delaware small businesses, then maybe, Secretary Levin could be claiming that the Markell Administration had created 6,100 jobs instead of will have created. The downside? No headlines. Darn.

From a 2005 WBOC article:

A former campaign aide to Senator Joseph Biden, who admitted he stole money from Biden’s campaign treasury, was sentenced to more than three years in behind bars Thursday.

The felon, Roger Blevins, allegedly stole ~$412,000 from Senator Biden’s campaign coffers. He pled guilty to an $80,000 theft/inter-State transfer of funds and went to jail for three (3) years.

Compare this to Mr. William Hitch, who didn’t steal from a Biden but was being “prosecuted” by one. Mr. Hitch allegedly stole $151,000 from the Laurel School District (from money for the education of our children versus money for a political campaign — taxpayer money versus donations to a non-governmental entity).

The deal cut by AG Biden? Pay back the money and we’ll call it even. 96 felony counts were dropped. Mr. Hitch will not even pay a fine.

I bet that Mr. Blevins wishes that he had worked for a school district instead of a Biden political campaign.

Older Posts »