It wasn’t Washington that created the states, it was the states that created the federal government.
On Money and Politics in Delaware, ALEC President and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams spoke with host Dace Blaskovitz about federalism, state economic rankings, and how Delaware stacks up in the latest edition of Rich States, Poor States.
Williams, who has been with ALEC for nearly two decades, said the organization’s mission is rooted in “the quintessential American principles of free markets, limited government, and federalism.” ALEC, he explained, is “the nation’s largest nonpartisan individual membership organization of state legislators,” working to advance policies through “the 50 laboratories of democracy.”
The conversation soon turned to ALEC’s annual economic ranking. Delaware placed 38th in the nation for economic outlook.
“There’s going to be some probably unsurprised folks listening to this to know that Delaware is not in the top 10,” Williams stated.
While he credited the state for not having a death tax and for avoiding a sales tax, he emphasized that “personal and business income tax rates [are] some of the highest … in the country.”
When Blaskovitz asked what he would do as “governor for the day,” Williams pointed to overspending as a root problem. “You’ve got to address the income tax issue,” he said. “But how do you do that? You address it through needing to watch the overspending problem … putting really government spending on a diet through a solid limit to the way that government grows.”
Federalism was another key topic.
“Government should not be concentrated simply in Washington,” Williams said, highlighting the importance of the Tenth Amendment.
Quoting Ronald Reagan, he added, “It wasn’t Washington that created the states, it was the states that created the federal government.”
Education reform also came to the forefront. Williams recounted ALEC’s involvement in a White House roundtable during National School Choice Week, where he met with governors and President Trump.
“For me, more important than any of that was it showed his commitment to the idea of improving education outcomes,” he said.
Williams noted the growth of universal education freedom, now adopted by 17 states, as “maybe one of the biggest achievements that I’ve seen in my 20-year career so far.”
Looking ahead, Williams cautioned Delaware leaders against complacency.
“You are staring down the barrel of a very real scenario that Delaware could be a bottom 10 state for economic outlook very quickly,” he warned. “In this kind of competitive environment … you can fall behind simply by standing still.”