Summary Provides Key Economic Data in Easy-to-Understand Format
For immediate release, July 8, 2010
Contact: Larry Nagengast, Senior Advisor, 302-373-5254
larry@chipflowers.com
Chip Flowers, Democratic candidate for State Treasurer, today issued his first “Delaware Economic Index,” a sample of the user-friendly information he intends to provide Delawareans if he wins election in November.
The four-page report includes statistics and commentary on unemployment, housing, consumer confidence, interest rates, state spending and private sector business activity in Delaware. The data was compiled from a combination of federal, state and private sources. The “Delaware Economic Index” exemplifies the financial early warning system the candidate proposed in the Flowers Framework for Restoring Prosperity, his campaign plan for strengthening the State Treasurer’s office.
The index rates Delaware’s economy as “weak,” Flowers said, because unemployment remains high (8.8 percent statewide), federal stimulus funds allocated for the state are declining and the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to remain flat for the remainder of the year.
“Reports like the Delaware Economic Index will benefit all Delawareans by giving them quick access to easy-to-understand information about the economic activity that affects their daily lives. The Delaware Economic Index should also serve as a valuable resource to officials at all levels of government as they factor economic considerations into their policy decisions,” Flowers said. If elected, Flowers said he would issue Delaware Economic Index reports like this one on a monthly basis.
“The Delaware Economic Index is an example of how the state treasurer can deliver additional services to all Delawareans without adding to the cost of government,” Flowers said.
While releasing his first Delaware Economic Index report, Flowers called upon his opponent in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary, Velda Jones-Potter, to agree to a pre-election moratorium on using her name and photos in official emails and advertisements directed toward state employees. “One of the advantages of incumbency is that it gives a candidate the opportunity to run on his or her record,” Flowers said. “But incumbents should avoid the temptation to engage in self-promotion through communications in furtherance of valid state programs, such as deferred compensation for state employees, that had been in operation long before they assumed office.”
Flowers, a Wilmington attorney who lives in Middletown, is founder and managing member of the Flowers Counsel Group, LLC, which advises major businesses on contractual agreements for major purchases and mergers and acquisitions. His global and Fortune 500 clients include DuPont, AstraZeneca, Bank of America, Barclay’s Bank Delaware, ING Bank FSB, Harvard University and the Buccini/Pollin Group. Flowers majored in economics at the University of Pennsylvania and received his law degree and a Masters in Business Administration from Georgetown University. He later earned a Masters of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Flowers previously worked in the White House Office of Political Affairs under President Bill Clinton. He was a Delaware delegate to the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Flowers has outlined his proposals to strengthen the treasurer’s office in the Flowers Framework for Restoring Prosperity. To read the entire index, please click here.
