News of the Day

Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate for the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage has now hit 7.79%, up from 7.63% last week and from 7.08% a year ago.

The rate for a 15-year mortgage also climbed, averaging 7.03% after coming in last week at 6.92%. One year ago, the rate on a 15-year fixed note averaged 6.36%.

This is the seventh week in a row that rates have risen, marking the longest stretch of consecutive increases since spring 2022, Freddie Mac said.

Redfin estimates there will only be roughly 4.1 million sales of existing homes across the nation by year’s end due to persistently high mortgage rates and elevated home prices amid low inventory, which are causing prospective buyers to reconsider their plans.

The real estate brokerage also reported that 16.3% of home purchase agreements in the U.S. were canceled last month, the highest rate in nearly a year.

Yesterday, Governor Tony Evers announced the appointment of 30 members to the Governor’s Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and set the first public task force meeting for Monday, October 30, 2023.

Administered by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) in coordination with the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), the task force is bringing together private and public sector leaders to identify policies and investments that will continue to advance Wisconsin workers, employers, and job seekers through this technological transformation.

Appointees to the Governor’s Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence are:

• Amy Pechacek, Secretary, DWD;
• Kathy Blumenfeld, Secretary, DOA;
• Missy Hughes, Secretary and CEO, WEDC;
• Dr. Jill Underly, State Superintendent, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction;
• Jay Rothman, President, UW System;
• Dr. Morna Foy, President, Wisconsin Technical College System;
• Troy Streckenbach, County Executive of Brown County;
• Trina Zanow, Chief IT Officer, DOA;
• Dr. Charles Lee Isbell Jr., Provost, UW-Madison;
• Greg Cisewski, Dean, School of Agricultural Sciences, Utilities & Transportation, Northcentral Technical College;
• Dr. Gholamreza Dehnavi, Department Chair, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UW-Platteville;
• Dr. Kaushal Chari, Dean of Sheldon B. Lubar College of Business, UW-Milwaukee;
• Dr. Xuedong (David) Ding, Associate Dean for the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Management, Director for School of Engineering, UW-Stout;
• Jeffrey Morin, President, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design;
• Stephanie Bloomingdale, President, Wisconsin State AFL-CIO;
• Jack Salzwedel, Board Chair, American Family Mutual Insurance Company;
• Jeff Yabuki, Chairman, Motive Partners;
• Nadiyah Johnson, CEO, Milky Way Tech Hub;
• Karl Reichenberger, Chief Intellectual Property and Information Technology Counsel, Johnson Controls;
• Mark Tyler, Chairman, OEM Fabricators Inc.;
• Ann Franz, Executive Director, NEW Manufacturing Alliance;
• Levi Felling, Chief Technology Officer, Elite EXTRA;
• Jeri Koester, Chief Information and Digital Officer, Marshfield Clinic Health System;
• Israel Squires, Managing Partner, Midpoint Ventures;
• Chris Hein, Director of Customer Engineering, Google Public Sector;
• Dr. Keyanna Conner, Managing Director, Deloitte Consulting;
• Tim Fiocchi, Senior Director of Governmental Affairs, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation;
• Dave Mickelson, Member of Wisconsin Farmers Union;
• Brian Foster, Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Foster Trucking Inc.;
• Tyler Clark, U.S. Government Affairs Industry Director, Microsoft;

The first meeting of the Governor’s Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence is set for Mon., Oct. 30, 2023, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. with virtual and in-person meeting options. The in-person event will be held at the Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club, 1 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI 53703. Register for attendance and choose attendance for one of three subcommittees via Eventbrite.

The three subcommittees are:

• Industries, Occupations, and Skills: This subcommittee will delve into the industries, occupations, and functional skillsets most likely to benefit or experience disruption from AI. Both employee and employer needs will be addressed.
• Equity and Economic Opportunity: This subcommittee will focus on advancing equity and economic opportunity as part of the AI transformation.
• Workforce Development and Educational Solutions: Based on the work of the previous two groups, this subcommittee will identify policy, educational, and budget solutions to prepare Wisconsin’s workforce, drive economic development, and sustain thriving communities.

Featured speakers at the October 30th meeting include: DWD Chief Economist Dennis Winters; Caroline Yap, Managing Director, Google Global AI Business; Emily Rose McRae, Senior Director Analyst, Gartner; and Tyler Clark, U.S. Government Affairs Industry Director, Microsoft.

Learn more about the task force, sign up for future notifications, and track ongoing work at DWD’s web page here.

Yesterday, Congressman Mike Johnson (LA-04) was elected as the Speaker of the House. As a Congressman, Speaker Johnson represents the northwest and western regions of Louisiana. Prior to his election to Congress in 2016, Speaker Johnson was an attorney and served in the Louisiana State Legislature from 2015 to 2017.

Elected by the whole of the House of Representatives, the Speaker acts as leader of the House and combines several roles: the institutional role of presiding officer and administrative head of the House, the role of leader of the majority party in the House, and the representative role of an elected member of the House. The Speaker of the House is second in line to succeed the President, after the Vice President.

Despite global pressures in the last few years, Wisconsin’s economy remains strong — thanks in large part to the work ethic of its labor force.

That was the message from state officials at the 2023 Wisconsin Economic Summit Monday in Appleton, hosted by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. While officials said the state economy is healthy overall, it does face long-term threats that could hamper future growth.

John Koskinen, chief economist for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, said the strength of Wisconsin’s economy comes from its workforce. He said 85 percent of Wisconsin’s prime working age population — defined by economists as people between the ages of 25 to 54 — is engaged in the workforce.

And, Koskinen said, he believes Wisconsin’s working women give the state an edge. In 2022, Wisconsin women had a labor force participation rate of 59.3 percent, while women nationally had a 56.8 percent rate, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But even though Koskinen and other officials are optimistic about Wisconsin’s economy, they acknowledged there are issues that could hamper its ability to grow long-term.

He said more people have died in Wisconsin than were born over the last few years. In fact, between 2020 and 2022, over 2,000 more people died than were born in Wisconsin, according to a 2023 report from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.

Wisconsin also has an aging population, and is one of only 14 states with a median age over 40, the report said.

Those demographic challenges have caused headaches for employers, who are struggling to find enough qualified workers, as there are 2.4 open jobs for every one jobseeker, Pechacek said.

“We have more jobs than we have physical bodies to fill those jobs right now,” she said. “In Wisconsin, we’re not alone in this. This is a problem felt throughout the Midwest, throughout the entire nation, even a global issue.”

Another pain point for Wisconsin’s economy, Koskinen said, is child care availability. He said child care services have not recovered from pandemic losses, making it a continuous challenge.

“While I alluded to the gains that we had on the strength of Wisconsin women and the difference that that makes, surprisingly, in 2021 — compared to the pre-pandemic levels — married women’s labor force participation dropped, largely because more people had to be home to make sure they were taking care of the kids,” Koskinen said.

State officials are touting Wisconsin’s precision medicine “Tech Hub” designation as a win for the state’s biohealth industries.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced Monday the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub effort, led by Madison-based BioForward Wisconsin, is one of 31 such initiatives selected for Regional Technology Hub designation by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

Wisconsin is getting $350,000 in planning funds, and has the opportunity to apply for up to $70 million in implementation funding, according to the federal agency.

The Tech Hubs program was established through the federal CHIPS and Science Act. Designees include groups focused on advanced manufacturing, autonomous systems, biotechnology and more. Wisconsin’s effort is focused on personalized medicine, which incorporates the fields of genetics, AI, advanced imaging and data analysis to match medical treatment to specific patients.

BioForward Wisconsin CEO Lisa Johnson notes Wisconsin is already a leader in biohealth technology and precision manufacturing. The state biohealth sector last year had a $32 billion economic impact, employing more than 129,000 people, according to BioForward.

Consortium members include: BioForward Wisconsin, WEDC, UW System Administration, UW-Madison, GE HealthCare, Rockwell Automation, Exact Sciences, Employ Milwaukee, Accuray, Plexus, WRTP Big Step, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Madison Area Technical College, MadREP and Milwaukee7.

The U.S. budget deficit soared in fiscal year 2023, which will likely complicate Congress’ efforts to come to a federal spending deal before government funding runs out next month.

The deficit was $1.7 trillion for the most recent fiscal year, which ended September 30, according to Treasury Department data released Friday. That marks a $320 billion, or 23%, increase from the prior fiscal year.

“We are a nation addicted to debt,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “With the economy growing and unemployment near record lows, this was the time to instill fiscal responsibility and reduce our deficits.”

The nation’s hefty debt load will become even costlier in coming years as interest payments rise.

“We are seeing in real time the painful combination of rising debt, inflation and interest costs, all leading to even more debt,” said Michael Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a nonpartisan organization that seeks to raise awareness of the US’ long-term fiscal challenges. “Interest costs rose almost 40% last year, and soon we’ll spend more on interest than we do on national defense.”

 As part of a larger effort to protect small businesses and organizations from scams, the Internal Revenue Service today announced the details of a special withdrawal process to help those who filed an Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claim and are concerned about its accuracy.

The IRS created the withdrawal option to help small business owners and others who were pressured or misled by ERC marketers or promoters into filing ineligible claims. Claims that are withdrawn will be treated as if they were never filed. The IRS will not impose penalties or interest.

Employers can use the ERC claim withdrawal process if all of the following apply:

• They made the claim on an adjusted employment return (Forms 941-X, 943-X, 944-X, CT-1X).
• They filed the adjusted return only to claim the ERC, and they made no other adjustments.
• They want to withdraw the entire amount of their ERC claim.
• The IRS has not paid their claim, or the IRS has paid the claim, but they haven’t cashed or deposited the refund check.

To take advantage of the claim withdrawal procedure, taxpayers should carefully follow the special instructions at IRS.gov/withdrawmyerc, summarized below.

• Taxpayers whose professional payroll company filed their ERC claim should consult with the payroll company. The payroll company may need to submit the withdrawal request for the taxpayer, depending on whether the taxpayer’s ERC claim was filed individually or batched with others.
• Taxpayers who filed their ERC claims themselves, haven’t received, cashed or deposited a refund check and have not been notified their claim is under audit should fax withdrawal requests to the IRS using computer or mobile device. The IRS has set up a special fax line to receive withdrawal requests. This enables the agency to stop processing before the refund is approved. Taxpayers who are unable to fax their withdrawal using a computer or mobile device can mail their request, but this will take longer for the IRS to receive.
• Employers who have been notified they are under audit can send the withdrawal request to the assigned examiner or respond to the audit notice if no examiner has been assigned.

Those who received a refund check, but haven’t cashed or deposited it, can still withdraw their claim. They should mail the voided check with their withdrawal request using the instructions at IRS.gov/withdrawmyerc.

The average annual premium for employer-sponsored family health insurance coverage rose by 7 percent in 2023, according to a study published Wednesday.

The results were derived from health research organization KFF’s annual Employer Health Benefits Survey. The organization surveyed private firms and nonfederal government employers with three or more employees, receiving 2,133 completed responses from the 24,891 firms that they sampled.

The survey found the average annual premium for employer-sponsored family health insurance went from $22,463 in 2022 to $23,968 in 2023. For family coverage, covered employees contributed an average of 29 percent of the total cost, compared to single coverage employees who contributed an average of 17 percent.

This year, workers contributed an average of $6,575 toward the cost of the health insurance coverage. The average premium for both single and family coverage has grown by 22 percent since 2018.

Almost a quarter of employers also said in they survey that they will increase workers’ contributions in the next two years. Average worker contributions have generally followed an upward trend in the 25 years that KFF has conducted the survey.

KFF noted that the cost of an average family premium was similar for workers in both small and large firms, while workers in small firms paid about 5 percent more for a single premium than those in larger firms. However, the survey found that about 30 percent of covered workers at small firms were enrolled in plans in which their employer paid the entire premium for single coverage.

Yesterday, the National Retail Federation urged the Federal Reserve to approve lowering its 21-cent cap on debit card “swipe” fees when the Board of Governors meets next week to consider proposed regulations on the issue.

The Federal Reserve announced today that the Board will meet next Wednesday to consider “proposed revisions to the Board’s debit interchange fee cap.” Details of the proposal were not released.

The amount large banks and card networks charge retailers to process debit card transactions has been capped at 21 cents – plus 1 cent for fraud prevention and 0.05% of the transaction amount to cover fraud costs – since 2011. The cap applies only to cards issued by banks with at least $10 billion in assets.

Under the 2010 Durbin Amendment, Congress directed the Federal Reserve to adopt regulations requiring that debit card swipe fees be “reasonable” and “proportional” to banks’ costs. The Federal Reserve found the average cost was about 8 cents per transaction and proposed a cap of up to 12 cents but settled on 21 cents after lobbying by banks.

The Federal Reserve was required to review the cap every two years but has kept it the same even though banks’ average cost has steadily fallen, dropping to 3.9 cents as of 2019, the most recent year for which the Federal Reserve has released data.

The cap cut the typical debit swipe fee in half and has saved retailers an estimated $9 billion a year, with studies showing retailers have shared at least 70% of the savings with customers. But NRF has long argued that the savings could have been much larger if the cap had been set lower or periodically adjusted as intended by Congress.

NRF sued the Fed in U.S. District Court in 2011, saying the cap was set too high. A trial judge agreed but the ruling was overturned by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and the Supreme Court refused to hear NRF’s appeal. The Supreme Court agreed late last month to take up a 202 challenge to the cap brought by a North Dakota retailer and decide whether the statue of limitations has expired.

Debit and credit card swipe fees have doubled over the past decade and totaled $160.7 billion in 2022, according to the Nilson Report. The fees are among most merchants’ highest operating costs and drive up prices paid by consumers by more than $1,000 a year for the average family. Debit card swipe fees account for $34.4 billion of the total.

Retail sales rose 0.7% on the month, according to the advance report the Commerce Department released Tuesday.

The numbers are not adjusted for inflation, so they indicate that consumers more than kept up with price increases. The consumer price index, released last week, showed headline inflation up 0.4% in September. On a year-over-basis, sales rose 3.8%, compared to the 3.7% increase for CPI.

Sales gains were broad-based on the month, with the biggest increase coming at miscellaneous store retailers, which saw an increase of 3%. Online sales rose 1.1% while motor vehicle parts and dealers saw a 1% increase and food services and drinking places grew by 0.9%, good for a yearly increase of 9.2%, which led all categories.

There were only a few categories that showed a decline; electronics and appliances stores as well as clothing retailers both saw decreases of 0.8% on the month.