Business climate rankings and 'Chicken Littles'

This week, I ran across a report from Chief Executive Magazine, which ranks the best and worst states for business annually.

While overshadowed by a similar report from the CNBC cable network, the ranking is one that occupants in the  C suite will check out.

This year's rankings saw Delaware slip from 15 to 25 in the annual study. The drop should come as no surprise, thanks  to the Elon Musk pay controversy in Chancery Court. Regardless of how CEOs feel about Musk, having their pay questioned is a nonstarter.

That led to what some observers viewed as a panicked reaction by a governor and General Assembly, fearing a drop in incorporation revenues that account for 30% of the state's revenue.

The Chief Executive site also cited  tax increases. I don't know where that came from.

Still, the ranking was an improvement over the 34th place finish reported by CNBC.

The state's corporate reputation has been dinged by the drip, drip of media reports of companies departing the state, although there are no signs of what has been dubbed "Dexit."

At some point, the chicken little crowd will likely seize on these rankings and others to paint a dismal picture of the state's business climate.

Regardless, developments like Merck's decision to spend $1 billion on a next-generation research and manufacturing hub will have an outsized impact on the state's economy. In terms of impact, the Merck site will be the equivalent of a $12 billion investment in Pennsylvania, a state that should have been a top candidate.

Delaware's business climate is by no means perfect, with issues that include an underperforming public education system, high personal and corporate income tax rates, and a not-invented-here parochial mindset that can shut out innovative ideas that would be easy for a small state to carry out.

Still, Delaware is by no means an economic wasteland and appears to be in better shape than many of the states that rate higher in these surveys. - Doug Rainey, chief content officer.