Delaware wise to be buying the view

The peak of the summer.

Local produce is at its best, the ocean temperature is perfect for swimming and the General Assembly has gone home for a few months. Any who don't thank their lucky stars that they live in Delaware aren't paying attention.

Through wise management, not just in the past several years but in the past several decades, Delaware finds itself with many of its finest natural resources - its beaches - preserved for all to enjoy. The public beaches keep our property values strong and provide immeasurable and affordable enjoyment for all.

The state's financial condition is solid as a rock, even though we enjoy the lowest taxes of any states in the region. We have farms and farmers who produce lots of food and a farmland preservation program that is helping to ensure that our productive farmland will remain as productive farmland into the foreseeable future. And we have numerous parks and refuges so Delawareans can enjoy the great outdoors.

The strength of Delaware's financial position is firmly evidenced in the budget passed this year by the General Assembly. In addition to financing the lean government shaped by the Markell administration, that budget includes a variety of forward-thinking initiatives.

We have written often about the unprecedented trails initiative that will do so much for the health, quality of life and economy of our state. Two other ongoing initiatives are worth noting and applauding.

The budget includes $10 million for farmland preservation funding and $10 million for open space preservation.

Delaware already leads the nation in the percentage of its farmland - 20 percent - permanently preserved. More than 100,000 acres are preserved, and more is on the way with the new funding.

Delaware's favorable natural and financial situation will make us even more of a magnet in the decades ahead. As architect Frank Lloyd Wright once famously wrote: “If you want the view, you have to buy the view.”

We are fortunate that Delaware understands Wright's maxim and has the political will and financial wherewithal to continue acting upon his wisdom.