The State of the State.

Governor Markell previewed his State of the State speech that he will deliver this afternoon to WDEL’s Amy Cherry. Governor Markell said his top priorities will remain centered around economic development, education and effective governance.

“Certainly, the job growth over the last year has been really good, fourth fastest in the country, 24 straight months, where it’s been strong relative to the rest of the country,” he said.

Markell said he’ll continue to build on that progress along with progress made on education and environmental issues. Without getting specific, the governor said he’ll revisit themes you heard in last year’s State of the State.

I’d like to know what progress he thinks was made on education.

The News Journal reports that “lawmakers [are] expecting him to talk about the need to address crime in Wilmington, fund infrastructure projects and bolster the state’s public education system.” The emphasis is mine. I wonder how these lawmakers feel about shutting down public schools in order to privatize them. I wonder if they object to that. I wonder whether they shouldn’t pass a bill preventing the Governor and his Education Secretary from doing just that.

More expectations:

House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, a Rehoboth Beach Democrat, expects Markell to renew a call to fund roadway infrastructure projects. Delaware continues to face a $780 million gap between funding levels and what state transportation officials say is needed for projects over the next six years.

Schwartzkopf does not expect Markell to embrace a higher gas tax, a proposal that failed to gain support in Dover last year. “Everybody wants to see something done” on infrastructure, Schwartzkopf said. “Nobody wants to make the hard decisions.”

WDDE reports that the Governor said earlier this month he won’t call for raising taxes in his State of the State address or his proposed budget. So he doesn’t want to make the hard decision. It is up to the legislature then.

We need infrastructure improvements. It has to be done. But we dare not raise taxes on the rich to pay more so that everyone can have that thing. It is much better that everyone suffers instead. It is much better that our roads crumble and bridges collapse. Better still, let’s cut education and healthcare and cut taxes for the wealthy!

Senate Minority Leader Gary Simpson, a Milford Republican, said Markell should embrace Republican ideas to provide a further boost to Delaware’s economy. He called on the governor to reform the state’s prevailing wage system, which sets wage rates paid to workers public works projects.

Mr. Simpson, he already is in some areas. Education, for one. But if one Democrat anywhere in this state dares to end the prevailing wage, they will find themselves primaried.

Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Ramone needs spelling lessons, because he thinks fees and taxes should be spelled the same way.

“I hope that we spell tax and fee the same way so that if there’s no tax hikes, there’s also no fee increases,” said Ramone.

Ah, fee increases. I am curious as to why Republicans oppose fee increases. Seems very anti-capitalistic to me. If you are not going to raise taxes, in fact you want them cut or eliminated, then you either have to increase fees or end all government services altogether. So if Ramone doesn’t want to increase fees, that necessarily means he wants to end all government services. I only wish Republicans had the cajones to admit what they really want.