As Delaware’s job growth continues to inch up slowly,UD professor Edward Ratledge recently discussed the politics of local job creation at the Delaware Historical Society.
Ratledge is the author of “Growing Business in Delaware: the Politics of Job Creation in a Small State.” He delved into various factors that lead to job creation – like a strong tax code, good schools, and overall quality of life.
He stressed the financial sector's success in Delaware over the last several years, along with the healthcare industry.
“We’ve been seeing this for any number of years: the fastest-growing part of the industry is in healthcare," he said. "And why do you think that is? It’s because there are a lot of old people around, and old people don’t hold up quite as well as young people.”
And as more and more baby boomers age, Ratledge says the need for more healthcare workers will continue to grow. But the aging population could hurt other sectors, like construction. When the housing bubble burst, thousands of construction workers found themselves out of work. Ratledge says it could happen again.
“They [baby boomers] are up there to 85, some probably 90 at this point and they’re not going to be with us forever," Ratledge said. "And that’s gonna empty out a lot of houses over these next 20 years that I’m talking about…”
Ratledge adds rising healthcare costs for an aging population needing care will also give Medicare and Social Security a run for their money over the next 20 years.
He says there are other things Delaware should consider if it wants to attract more jobs – like considering a right-to-work policy.
“All the southern states are right-to-work states," Ratledge said. "And so that’s the reason why – at least part of the reason why – they’ve been able to attract a lot of the new industry down in South Carolina and Georgia, Texas certainly and others.”
But no state legislature controlled by Democrats has adopted a right-to-work law. And there’s still much debate over how – if at all, it would improve the economy, with some arguing it can be harmful in the long run by weakening union strength.
