I remain surprised that the general public has no idea of the depths of this financial crisis and how it will affect everyday life. Nor am I going to spend any time discussing it beyond posing one question: Do you have to pay money for long term loans such as a car or mortgage or are you using a credit card and not paying it off in full every month? If the answer is yes to either of those questions, then you are going to have to start thinking about long term savings.
I write simply express my disgust with how bad our economy has become and wish out loud that the rest of the world economy doesn't get too far sucked down the tubes along with us. Have you ever tried to catch a falling knife? Hopefully President Bush simply creates an executive order to stop this insanity. If your money is still in the market in anything, get it out now!
Regardless of how my voice counts for nothing in all of this, as Delawareans, our lone representative, Mike Castle, certainly is one incumbent who put country above individual partisan politics and voted yes for the bailout bill. So, in one respect, Delaware did its part to try and bandage this national wound. Unfortunately, we needed the other 49 states to step up as well, and without the requisite support, the rest of the world is going to have to step back and think about this a little while longer.
Unfortunately also for every American who is not a Congressional member in Washington, the failure to put out a recovery plan today only means that tomorrow (and at least the rest of the week) will be another rough day for Wall Street. How will this affect "main street"? Just wait until the next time you need money.
Showing posts with label delaware economic news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label delaware economic news. Show all posts
Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
General Assembly decides to take a gamble on nearly $50 million of the budget
For those of you who have not heard, the General Assembly approved today an emergency measure to address the budget shortfall this pending fiscal year. In a questionably close, bipartisan measure, the Senate approved by a narrow vote of 10-7 (with 4 abstentions) to pass House Resolution 214, what I am calling "The Blackjack Bill," which, according to the title, is "an emergency act to close the gap between the FY2009 budget." Governor Minner is expected to sign the blackjack bill tonight.
Presuming her approval, a group of nine Delaware delegates (3 from the House, 3 from the Senate, the Governor, Lt. Gov., and the Treasurer) will take $42.5 million from the general fund to Atlantic City tomorrow morning. According to the measure, gambling will commence no later than 1:00 EST. Although the press seems silent on where they are going (which I must assume is to keep away the riff-raff), my guess is they are going to Borgata.
Most of the blackjack bill looks like it deals with how the nearly $50 million can be gambled. For example, the money will be divided evenly among the delegates and left to various games of chance. Particularly, H.R. 214 limits the contingent to roulette, craps, and blackjack. Because Atlantic City casinos will not permit the entire $42.5 million to be bet at once, some minimum maximums have been set. Interestingly, any money bet at roulette must be either bet on red or black. I just hope they don't simply place $1 million on red and another million on black in the same spin.
An amendment to the resolution originally provided for an additional $2.5 million for slots, but after a questionable and then devastating $100,000 bet on a Wheel of Fortune machine earlier this afternoon, the Senate Revenue & Taxation committee rejected any further games of chance from being played. Surprisingly, however, another amendment provides for an additional $50 million to be allocated in case the committee comes back with over $200 million.
According to one senator, he expects the majority of the money to be spent on blackjack and roulette: "Even if we lose a million on one spin of the roulette wheel, the odds are in our favor that we'll win it back on the next spin." Another representative predicted that the measure could "yield results of at least 75%, if not 150% of the money we have allocated toward this process."
Creativity of fixing the budget appears to have no bounds. I hope the group is able to double up. Not sure what is going to happen if they lose their shirts.
Presuming her approval, a group of nine Delaware delegates (3 from the House, 3 from the Senate, the Governor, Lt. Gov., and the Treasurer) will take $42.5 million from the general fund to Atlantic City tomorrow morning. According to the measure, gambling will commence no later than 1:00 EST. Although the press seems silent on where they are going (which I must assume is to keep away the riff-raff), my guess is they are going to Borgata.
Most of the blackjack bill looks like it deals with how the nearly $50 million can be gambled. For example, the money will be divided evenly among the delegates and left to various games of chance. Particularly, H.R. 214 limits the contingent to roulette, craps, and blackjack. Because Atlantic City casinos will not permit the entire $42.5 million to be bet at once, some minimum maximums have been set. Interestingly, any money bet at roulette must be either bet on red or black. I just hope they don't simply place $1 million on red and another million on black in the same spin.
An amendment to the resolution originally provided for an additional $2.5 million for slots, but after a questionable and then devastating $100,000 bet on a Wheel of Fortune machine earlier this afternoon, the Senate Revenue & Taxation committee rejected any further games of chance from being played. Surprisingly, however, another amendment provides for an additional $50 million to be allocated in case the committee comes back with over $200 million.
According to one senator, he expects the majority of the money to be spent on blackjack and roulette: "Even if we lose a million on one spin of the roulette wheel, the odds are in our favor that we'll win it back on the next spin." Another representative predicted that the measure could "yield results of at least 75%, if not 150% of the money we have allocated toward this process."
Creativity of fixing the budget appears to have no bounds. I hope the group is able to double up. Not sure what is going to happen if they lose their shirts.
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Sunday, September 30, 2007
First registration, now Route 1 - tolls are going up
As anyone who has been to the DMV lately to register their car, the registration rates have doubled now for the 1 or 2 year re-registration. It now costs $40/year to register your car once it passes inspection. Compared to Pennsylvania and other neighboring states, this is still a bargain.
For anyone who has driven up or down Route 1 lately, you probably have noticed the new electronic toll signs, which currently reflect the rate of $1/car. That, too, is going up effective Monday, Oct. 1, from $1 to $2 (but only on weekends) (for now). While this is great for our side of the tourist industry and should generate big money for the general fund, I think it's going to have the added bonus of increasing local traffic on 13. After all, it's just about as quick to take 13 as it is Route 1 anyway, despite the lights.
With the increase in tolls and car registration to generate money for the state, why not go ahead and create a toll of say, $10/car and $20/truck on the St. George's bridge. You can go over the main bridge anyway without having to pay the toll, so is the St. George's even necessary anymore? That will effectively pay to keep that old thing up - and realistically, the money the State saves if they tore it down could help prevent any future increases on the toll roads. Just a thought.
For anyone who has driven up or down Route 1 lately, you probably have noticed the new electronic toll signs, which currently reflect the rate of $1/car. That, too, is going up effective Monday, Oct. 1, from $1 to $2 (but only on weekends) (for now). While this is great for our side of the tourist industry and should generate big money for the general fund, I think it's going to have the added bonus of increasing local traffic on 13. After all, it's just about as quick to take 13 as it is Route 1 anyway, despite the lights.
With the increase in tolls and car registration to generate money for the state, why not go ahead and create a toll of say, $10/car and $20/truck on the St. George's bridge. You can go over the main bridge anyway without having to pay the toll, so is the St. George's even necessary anymore? That will effectively pay to keep that old thing up - and realistically, the money the State saves if they tore it down could help prevent any future increases on the toll roads. Just a thought.
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Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Back from Europe and traffic is not much better there than here
After a brief vacation, I returned to our small state only to face the usual barrage of traffic this morning. According to a news report tonight, fellow commuters (Delawareans included) sit in traffic nearly a week out of every year. What a waste of time for everybody. To relieve this traffic problem, many larger cities have enacted carpool lanes, or limited access pay roads that have charges that vary with the time of day. While Delaware has neither the infrastructure or population to warrant this type of change, the problem is still enough that maybe we should start thinking about more seriously about it.
Since an election year is coming up, I'm sure there will be an absence of tax talk for a while, at least in the more traditional senses. Instead, I offer two ways to generate income without raising the state income tax. I give these ideas in response to the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council is projecting as a ten percent drop in revenue for the annual budget and that signs continue to point to a general slowdown in the Delaware economy.
While I save the merits of building a larger Septa-type rail system to transverse the distance from Wilmington to the beach along the old railroad lines for another day, we could do something along the lines of modifying the tolls on Route 1 to be more similar to the Pennsylvania turnpike. Depending on how long you were on it, your toll would vary. This modified toll system would also have the benefit of generating income similar to, if not more than the 60-cent-per-pack cigarette tax that was passed last year. Plus you would have to hire some union workers to work these new toll booths, so that would put a few more people to work.
My second suggestion for whoever winds up getting the nomination for either party would be to consider upping the fines for traffic violations and other minor misdemeanors. I think running a stop sign now costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 plus costs, and if one of the red light cameras gets you, it's $75. Doubling or tripling these fines may have the dual purpose of deterrence and income generation at the expense of those who break the law. Obviously it works for all of the beach towns with their speed traps...
Since an election year is coming up, I'm sure there will be an absence of tax talk for a while, at least in the more traditional senses. Instead, I offer two ways to generate income without raising the state income tax. I give these ideas in response to the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council is projecting as a ten percent drop in revenue for the annual budget and that signs continue to point to a general slowdown in the Delaware economy.
While I save the merits of building a larger Septa-type rail system to transverse the distance from Wilmington to the beach along the old railroad lines for another day, we could do something along the lines of modifying the tolls on Route 1 to be more similar to the Pennsylvania turnpike. Depending on how long you were on it, your toll would vary. This modified toll system would also have the benefit of generating income similar to, if not more than the 60-cent-per-pack cigarette tax that was passed last year. Plus you would have to hire some union workers to work these new toll booths, so that would put a few more people to work.
My second suggestion for whoever winds up getting the nomination for either party would be to consider upping the fines for traffic violations and other minor misdemeanors. I think running a stop sign now costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 plus costs, and if one of the red light cameras gets you, it's $75. Doubling or tripling these fines may have the dual purpose of deterrence and income generation at the expense of those who break the law. Obviously it works for all of the beach towns with their speed traps...
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