The calendar is just about to change from 2011 to 2012 - leaving behind a year of memorable stories and people for an new year that is filled with unanswered questions and unresolved issues.
DFM News asked a handful of First State political observers to reflect on the year gone by and what they’ll be looking for in 2012. They weigh in with their thoughts, submitted via email, starting today. The first topic: Delaware’s top story of 2011.
[caption id="attachment_3638" align="alignnone" width="130" caption="Rich Collins"]
[caption id="attachment_3638" align="alignnone" width="130" caption="Charlie Copeland"]
[caption id="attachment_3638" align="alignnone" width="130" caption="Sam Hoff"]
[caption id="attachment_3638" align="alignnone" width="130" caption="Jason Melrath"]
[caption id="attachment_3638" align="alignnone" width="130" caption="John Watson"]
What was Delaware's top story in 2011?
The top story of 2011 was the continued weak state of the economy. According to the Caesar Rodney Institute, 34,000 Delawareans are unemployed. Most aspects of the home buying market are at historic lows. Many small businesses have failed or are threatened. Huge numbers of Delaware manufacturing jobs have disappeared.
While average Delaware citizens continued to suffer, most of the people and institutions that actually caused the financial collapse continued to be protected by government actions. As a result, many believe that the economy may continue to struggle for years.
—Rich Collins,Executive Director of the Positive Growth Alliance
The economy. In January 2009, Delaware had a civilian labor force of 440,800 people. Today, our labor force is 427,700, a reduction of 13,100. In addition, Delaware officially has 32,500 unemployed individuals as of November 2011. The reduction in the labor force along with the number unemployed means that Delaware has a real unemployment rate of 10.3%. This double-digit rate persists despite tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money being spent on large corporations to "save" jobs. When those incentives run out, Delaware will once again be held hostage to making additional payouts. Meanwhile the regulatory environment in Delaware remains unchanged and injurious to the growth of small businesses.
Looking forward, then, the message on Delaware's economic future is mixed. Small businesses continue to bear a significant tax and regulatory burden while large corporations are getting bailouts. While I understand that jobs are jobs (and I hold nothing against a business person playing the government to get money), copying Ruth Ann Minner's economic policy is a far-cry from Governor Markell's campaign slogan, TIME - Turning Ideas into Meaningful Employment.
—Charlie Copeland,former state senator and 2008 GOP candidate for Lt. Governor
There is a tie for the top story, both dealing with health issues. The medical marijuana bill was passed by the General Assembly while bills were introduced in that same body to clamp down on the ostensible widespread misuse of pharmaceutical drugs. While the first action above was a long time coming and demonstrates compassion for the sick, the second action will make it harder for those truly suffering to acquire relief through legitimate, legal channels.
—Sam Hoff, Delaware State University political science professor
The top news story was probably the murder of New Castle County Police Officer Joseph Szczerba in the line of duty. It was a tragedy that reminds us how much our fellow citizens put on the line for us every day, and it was a tragedy that showed, through the sometimes remoteness of modern life, how much of a community we really are.
Politically, the top story of the year was the performance of the General Assembly in passing many pieces of overdue legislation, topping its output from the last session. Namely, the Ned Carpenter Act, which restored judicial discretion in sentencing for drug offenses; the Civil Unions Bill for committed same sex couples; the medical marijuana act, foreclosure reform, and three gun control bills. The General Assembly also fought back Republican efforts to dismantle the RGGI greenhouse gas initiative program.
—Jason Melrath,Vice President, Progressive Democrats for Delaware
If it's not the top story of the year this year in Delaware, it should be. I'm talking about the "Occupy Wall Street Movement".
It first made headlines in New York and San Francisco on September 17, 2011. By October 5th, we were told Occupy protests have spread to over 95 cities across 82 countries and 600 communities in the U.S. By November 26th, published reports listed over two thousand six hundred Occupy communities world wide.
Since its beginning, Occupy Delaware has been fighting city and state regarding locations for their peaceful demonstrations. In Wilmington, the controversy centered on H. Fletcher Brown and Brandywine Parks, among others. Another sticking point was, and possibly still is, fees being charged for permits to hold their protests. It seems to me there should be no fees for city and state residents to hold peaceful demonstrations to redress their grievances. As one of this Great Nation's founders, President Thomas Jefferson encouraged this kind of initiative from the public, and it still holds true today. I guess that Newt Gingrich, the great historian, forgot this when he accused the Occupiers of being a bunch of unkempt hippies making demands they don't pay for, saying they should go get a job after taking a bath.
Gingrich, like some of our local politicians, ignores the fact that most of the Occupiers, especially in the Occupy Delaware Movement, are gainfully employed. Overworked and underpaid, but employed. They pay the taxes that support the city streets and parks they choose to demonstrate in, and pay the salaries of the politicians who make the rules that would deny them their constitutional rights. Kathleen MacRae, Executive Director of the Delaware American Civil Liberties Union reminds them that the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that public streets and parks belong to the people, noting "Such use of the streets and public places has, from ancient times, been part of the privilege, immunities, rights and liberties of citizens."
What displeases Occupy Delaware? What are they and the others fighting for? They want to close the ever-widening income gap between the 1% and the 99% where most of us are. They are concerned about the homeless, the poverty stricken, health care, and the crying need for more jobs. Just some of the driving forces behind the movement that has been criticized by the UNINFORMED for having no core principles. How bad is the ever-increasing income gap between the haves and the have-nots? Listen to this: Published reports tell us that from 1992 to 2007 the top 400 income earners had and income increase of 392% and their average tax rate reduced by 37%. And the Congressional Budget Office tell us that between 1979 and 2007, the incomes of the top 1% of Americans grew an average of 275%, while 60% in the Middle Class saw their income rise by only 40%. And there is a lot more that could be added, but now you can see why the support of Occupy Delaware and other Occupy movements is so important. If they succeed, we all prosper. They will only fail if the rest of us don't help take the message to our elected leaders.
—John Watson Former WILM radio talk-show host