Brian Dake

Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol are promising to gut Gov. Tony Evers’ spending budget proposal. But Republicans are leaving the governor’s proposed gas tax increase largely as is.

“I would be open to an increase in the gas tax with a sunset,” state Rep. Mike Rohrkaste, R-Neenah told News Talk 1130 WISN Friday morning. “Meaning that that gas tax could come off in two, three, four, fives years.”

Rohrkaste said a gas tax increase could be a temporary solution to the state’s transportation needs. The emphasis is on “temporary.”

“In the long run, the gas tax is not sustainable with increasing fuel efficiency, hybrid, and electric [cars],” Rohrkaste  said. “Over time, our transportation funding source will decline at a faster pace than the needs of our weather and our economy.”

Direct tourism spending in 2018 increased 4.86% to $13.3 billion with an overall economic impact of $21.5 billion, an increase of 4.68%, according to a report released Monday by the state Department of Tourism.

The state’s tourism industry accounted for 199,073 jobs, an increase of 1.67%, that paid out $5.5 billion in wages, an increase of 2.43%, while tourism also contributed $1.5 billion in state and local taxes, an increase of 2.6 percent over 2017.

But for data-driven Sara Meaney, the state’s Tourism Secretary designee, one of the growth categories she is trumpeting this week as she tours the state to tout the tourism numbers is the 4.9% increase in spending per visitor to $118. The number of visitors in 2018 grew by 2 million people over 2017 to 112.1 million.

Statewide, lodging and food and beverage purchases accounted for about $7 billion or about 53% of tourism spending. Shopping contributed $2.6 billion, and $1.8 billion was spent on transportation. Recreational spending on activities like boating, fishing, biking and camping experienced the largest growth by sector with an increase of 8% to $1.9 billion.

U.S. job growth surged in April and the unemployment rate dropped to a more than 49-year low of 3.6 percent, pointing to solid economic growth.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 263,000 jobs last month, amid gains in hiring nearly across all sectors. Data for February and March was revised up to show 16,000 more jobs created than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast nonfarm payrolls rising by 185,000 jobs last month.

The two-tenths of a percentage point decline in the unemployment rate from 3.8 percent in March was because 490,000 people left the labour force in April. The jobless rate is now below the 3.7 percent that Fed officials project it will be by the end of the year.

The labour force participation rate, or the proportion of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one, fell to 62.8 percent in April from 63.0 percent in March. The participation rate hit a more than five-year high of 63.2 percent in January. The low participation rate suggests some slack still remains in the labour market.

Republican legislative leaders say their first action next week on Gov. Tony Evers’ budget plan will be to scrap several of its key pillars, including its expansion of Medicaid, overhaul of marijuana laws and tax hikes on big manufacturers and high earners.

Roughly 350,000 Wisconsin workers would be at risk of losing their jobs as a result of increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, according to a new policy brief published by the Badger Institute.

“The High Cost of Increasing the Minimum Wage in Wisconsin to $15,” authored by economists and Badger Institute Visiting Fellows Ike Brannon and Andrew Hanson, examines the economic impact in Wisconsin if lawmakers were to mandate a 107% increase in the minimum wage as Gov. Tony Evers and others have recommended.

The 350,000 workers who would lose their jobs represent nearly one-third of all workers currently earning a wage below the proposed new minimum. Half of the job loss would come from the bottom 10% of the income distribution, and 90% would come from the bottom quartile of the income distribution.

“Using a blunt instrument like the minimum wage to reduce poverty is both penny foolish and pound foolish,” said Brannon. “Greatly increasing the minimum wage could end up costing a couple hundred thousand workers their jobs, most of whom would be young and have relatively little experience in the workforce. If we want to help the working poor without reducing their employment, improving the Earned Income Tax Credit makes much more sense.”

“We estimate that up to half of all workers in food preparation and service currently earning below $15 an hour could potentially lose their jobs,” Hanson said. “But there are a wide variety of other occupations in the state that the data tell us would see a dramatic decline in employment, including maintenance, personal care and service, building and grounds maintenance, office and administrative support, sales, production, and transportation and material-moving industries.”

The authors conclude that a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour would also lead to cutbacks in hours, reduced benefits and more difficulty in securing employment for workers who are younger, possess lower skills or have blemishes on their records.

The U.S. economy grew at a faster pace than expected in the first quarter and posted its best growth to start a year in six years.

First-quarter GDP expanded by 3.2% in the first quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its initial read of the economy for that period. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected the U.S. economy increased by 2.5% in the first quarter. It was the first time since 2013 that first-quarter GDP topped 3%.

Exports rose 3.7% in the first quarter, while imports decreased by 3.7%. Economic growth also got a lift from strong investments in intellectual property products. Those investments expanded by 8.6%.

Disposable personal income increased by 3%, while prices increased by 1.3% when excluding food and energy. Overall prices climbed by 0.8% in the first quarter.

Friday’s data was the first look at how the economy fared during the longest government shutdown in history. The federal government ceased operations for 35 days between late December and Jan. 25 amid a standoff between the Trump administration and congressional leaders over funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Investors were closely watching out for the report as they looked for more confirmation that a recession may not be in the cards over the short term.

The report “helps offset fears of slowing global growth,” said Alec Young, managing director of global market research at FTSE Russell. “At a time of lingering U.S.-Chinese trade uncertainty and weak economic data everywhere from Germany to Korea to Japan, strong U.S. data acts as an insurance policy against further global economic weakness. And with inflation still subdued, it’s too early to start worrying about Fed rate hikes again.”

The state Elections Commission is certifying Brian Hagedorn’s victory over Lisa Neubauer in the race for an open state Supreme Court seat.

Unofficial returns from the April 2 election showed Hagedorn ahead of Neubauer by 5,962 votes. Neubauer had mulled a recount but ultimately decided against it and conceded defeat April 10.

The commission released a final tally Wednesday that shows Hagedorn beat her by 5,981 votes.

Hagedorn and Neubauer were vying to replace retiring liberal Justice Shirley Abrahamson, who is battling cancer.

Hagedorn will serve a 10-year term. His win means the court’s conservative majority will grow from 4-3 to 5-2 when he takes the seat in August.

There are 14,275 bridges in Wisconsin – 1,054, or 7.4 percent, are classified as being structurally deficient, which means that one of their key elements is in poor or worse condition. That’s up from 1,043 in 2014, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) 2019 Bridge Profile.

Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation has identified 1,955 bridges in need of repair at an estimated cost of $1.4 billion, according to ARTBA’s report. That’s down from 1,984 in 2014.

“Wisconsin has an ongoing, rigorous inspection and maintenance program designed to spot issues well before they turn into major public safety concerns. The net change of 11 bridges in this category means there are additional structures in the inventory that now receive closer attention – beyond the standard inspection schedule – to help prioritize any immediate needs and long-term solutions.

“Falling into this category does not mean unsafe or ‘undriveable.’ The department maintains current structural evaluations to ensure all bridges can safely accommodate the traveling public,” Kristin McHugh, director of public affairs for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT), said.

McHugh cautioned against inferring too much from the $1.4 billion estimate for bridge repairs, which Wisconsin DOT provides to the Federal Highway Administration as part of the National Bridge Inventory program. She explained that the estimate is a result of using “a prescribed replacement formula designed to give a ballpark idea of the financial impact of replacement.

“While the replacement calculations are accurate in that context, they would be considered hypothetical for planning and programming purposes,” McHugh said. “This is because the department would typically explore a host of much less costly rehabilitation and repair options, where viable, to extend the useful life of infrastructure and enhance the return on taxpayer investment.”