Say No to Delaware’s Status Quo
Delaware: banks, beaches, Biden. We’re the First State and the Diamond State—a small wonder. We are known by and for many things, but home means something different to everyone.
Delawareans take a lot of pride in our little state, and so do we at A Better Delaware. That is why we are working to improve the state for every Delawarean, and for our future.
Delaware is 34th nationally in the Best States to Live In report from WalletHub. A lot of things factor into that position.
Delaware’s quality of life ranked low at 47th nationally, based on indicators like the average commute time, access to public transportation, and more. The same report had Delaware’s economy at 38th, based on the unemployment rate, general tax-friendliness, entrepreneurial activity, and more.
Delaware has room for improvement on all of these indicators.
Improving these issues, either through legislative or regulatory change, would have a massive impact on the state. Not only would it be better for Delawareans to see these changes, but these measures would help to attract businesses into the state as well. Right now, Delaware plays a costly game of corporate welfare at the taxpayer’s expense, despite that being at the bottom of the listof what businesses look for when selected a location.
We consistently rank poorly nationally for unemployment, and are currently 36th for July 2020. There’s no amount of money that can be given to a corporation to hide our shortcomings in these important areas.
Even if a business does select Delaware, are we attracting workers?
Delaware ranks 29th overall for its affordability, and is even lower for its cost of living and housing affordability. That’s quite unattractive for prospective residents. We have one of the highest income taxes and Delaware’s real estate transfer tax being one of the highest in the nation. Even if we attract businesses and worker to the state, the extra thousands involved in buying a home may make the workers second-guess their decision.
It’s issues like this that need to be fixed in order to make our home a great place to be. Education, quality of the job market, a trained workforce and so much more are the key to improving Delaware.
Currently, our representatives and leaders are not working to truly improve Delaware. Every action seems like a band aid for a bullet wound, and Delawareans are tired of seeing their state crumble because of it.
Now is the time to critically think about the decisions that have been made in Dover, who is making them, and why. The 2021 Legislative Session could be the one to solidify these national standings and push us further down the path of our status quo, or could be the one that makes a decisive change that could put the First State back on top.