Time to Get Ahead

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

May 19, 2025

Responsible fiscal stewardship is central to good governance in business, the nonprofit sector, and at every level of government. While the 50 states and over 80,000 local governments across the country cannot print money, the federal government can and regularly spends beyond its means. As a result, the credit rating agency Moody’s declared the United States a greater credit risk and acknowledged that our federal finances are way out of line. In short, if we are going to continue to deficit spend, it’s going to cost us more. According to a CNBC article released this morning, “The agency attributed the downgrade to the increasing burden of financing the government’s budget deficit as well as the high cost of rolling over existing debt amid high interest rates.”

Roughly 61% of federal spending is dedicated to fixed programs like Medicare and Social Security, with 26% spent on discretionary items, and the remaining 13% going to interest payments on the existing debt. While our state budget is balanced, smaller generations of younger Delawareans will be called upon to pay a greater share of their income to support public programs if we don’t take a hard look at our own spending priorities. The time to get ahead of that is now.

News You Can Use

The economic calendar this week kicks off Monday with speeches from New York Fed President John Williams and Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, along with April’s report on leading economic indicators. More Fed officials speak throughout the week, including Tom Barkin, Susan Collins, and Michelle Bowman. On Thursday, we’ll see jobless claims, S&P flash PMIs for manufacturing and services, and existing home sales for April. The week wraps up with new home sales data for April on Friday.

It’s also a busy week for earnings. Home Depot kicks off the week with a call on Tuesday, with Target and Lowe's heading calls on Wednesday, joined by Urban Outfitters, Zoom Communications, Wix.com, and Snowflake. Thursday features calls from Advanced Autoparts, BJs Wholesale, Ralph Lauren, TD Bank, Intuit, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Ross Stores. Booz Allen Hamilton and Buckle close out the week with calls on Friday.

Michael J. Quaranta

President

Delaware State Chamber of Commerce

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