AKA the “Me Too” State
First to ratify the Constitution, Delaware was eager to get started with the United States. Three counties take up the entire state. The two southern counties have remained agricultural, but 60% of the entire population lives in the northernmost county, New Castle.
The two southern counties, Kent and Sussex, are very heavy into farming as mentioned above. Though the state is small, their contributions to what you eat are quite significant. If you’ve ever had chicken, there’s a good chance it came from Delaware, where Perdue does much of its farming. The areas stretching from Delaware down into Virginia are quite good for poultry farming, though it can be done just about anywhere. Perdue favors the area since they are located just south in Maryland. The state also produces corn, soy beans, and dairy products.
Of course most of the economy of Delaware is based in the northernmost county. One of the nation’s longest interstates is I95. The highway stretches from Miami to Maine, and it hits some of the largest cities on its way. The stretch of road from Washington, DC to Boston is known as “BosWash“. This stretch includes Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and Wilmington, DE among the two others mentioned before. Delaware may have found it tough to compete with all those big cities, so the state decided to attract companies by appealing to their income statements. A company can incorporate in one state and be located in another. Incorporating in the state of Delaware allows a corporation to save quite a bit on their taxes. I’d try and list some of the companies incorporated in Delaware, but since more than half of the Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in the state, I don’t have time to do that. It’s not just limited to big companies either. Small, ten person corporations can find advantages to incorporating in Delaware. This is a major source of revenue for the state, and makes employment in government there a high demand job. Though fees and taxes play a major role in the decision to incorporate in Delaware, there are also advantages in the corporate law arena. TeenAnalyst.com provides a more in depth explanation of why companies choose to incorporate in this state.
Incorporating in a state doesn’t mean you are located there. So many of the companies incorporated in Delaware are not located there. For example every major bank except Wells Fargo is incorporated in Delaware, but none are located there. There is a major player of another industry that is located in the state: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, better known as DuPont. DuPont is a chemical company, so you don’t hear from them very often in the consumer realm. They make plastics and rubber and are the largest chemical company in the US, second in the world. Their contribution to modern society cannot be measured. With 60,000 employees across the globe, DuPont brings a lot of money back to Delaware.
There are other major employers in the state as well. Though the big banks and AIG are not located in Delaware, they do employ a lot of folks. You probably recognize the city of Wilmington, Delaware from somewhere, but maybe you can’t quite put your finger on it. Go look at your last credit card statement. Yes! Wilmington, Delaware is the credit card capital of the US. Now owned by Bank of America as Bank of America Card Services, credit card giant MBNA is located in Wilmington.
There are a few other major employers representing other industries. Astra Zeneca, a pharmaceutical giant from Europe best known for Crestor and Nexium employs many researchers in Delaware. The stretch from Delaware to New-York, especially in New Jersey is responsible for just about every major drug you’ve ever heard of. One final note is a few automotive plants for Chrysler and GM. One such vehicle made there is the Chrysler Aspen Hybrid (already dead) that Chrysler’s CEO rolled up to Washington in.
As you can see, Delaware is not just the small “Me Too” state I’ve branded it as. This nickname did come to me because the attitude the state took early on in order to bring business to their citizens. They weren’t going to win on tourism, New York and Boston are too close to compete on shipping, and the state is too small to rely on farming alone. Delaware has made sure they are important on a national scale despite their size and small population. They have a well diversified economy that stands to do well. To that I say they did a job well done.
 By The Weakonomist |
The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. |
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