Brian Dake

The U.S.-China trade war is set to enter a new, quieter phase on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He sign an initial trade deal that aims to vastly increase Chinese purchases of U.S. manufactured products, agricultural goods, energy and services.

The centerpiece of the deal is a pledge by China to purchase an additional $200 billion worth of U.S. goods over two years to cut a bilateral U.S. trade deficit that peaked at $420 billion in 2018.

The Phase 1 deal, reached in December, canceled planned U.S. tariffs on Chinese-made cell phones, toys and laptop computers and halved the tariff rate to 7.5% on about $120 billion worth of other Chinese goods, including flat panel televisions, Bluetooth headphones and footwear. But it will leave in place 25% tariffs on a vast, $250 billion array of Chinese industrial goods and components used by U.S. manufacturers.

The deal includes pledges by China to forbid the forced transfer of American technology to Chinese firms as well as to increase protections for U.S. intellectual property.

But it stops well short of addressing the core U.S. complaints about China’s trade and intellectual property practices that prompted the Trump administration to pressure Beijing for changes in early 2017.

Mnuchin and Lighthizer said these issues are key U.S. priorities for Phase 2 negotiations with China.

Today, Commissioner Mike Huebsch announced his retirement from the Public  Service Commission (PSC) of Wisconsin effective February 3, 2020.

The retirement caps off 25 years of distinguished service to the state. He was appointed to a six-year term at the Public Service commission by Governor Scott Walker on March 1, 2015.

“I want to humbly thank the people of the state of Wisconsin for allowing me to serve. I have been truly blessed for the opportunities and trust afforded to me by the people of this great state. I thank you,” said Huebsch.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin is composed of three full-time Commissioners who decide the cases brought to the PSC for changes in utility operations, rates and for construction projects after a complete and thorough review of all the records compiled in the case, including public comments.

Commissioners are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate for staggered, six-year terms.

Gov. Tony Evers laid out his legislative priorities for the new year during a stop in Eau Claire Thursday.

The governor said he wants to continue to move forward on bipartisan issues. In a letter sent to both Democrats and Republicans, Evers pushed for the passage of, what he calls, key pieces of legislation before the session wraps up in the spring.

Among them are bills to address clean water, sex trafficking, homelessness, lowering property taxes and reimbursing local governments for unexpected special elections.

Evers said he’s been frustrated that many key items keep getting swept under the rug in the legislature.

“My frustration is that we all, you know, whether it’s in a small way or a big way, represent the people of Wisconsin,” Evers said. “Let’s have a vote. If people vote it down, that’s good. Whatever! It doesn’t matter. We have a democracy, and I think it’s important for the people of Wisconsin to be heard, and let’s have a vote on these things.”

Evers added he picked these pieces of legislature because they have bipartisan support and are important to the majority of Wisconsinites.

A bipartisan water pollution task force proposed more than a dozen bills Wednesday designed to curb contamination across Wisconsin, capping a year’s worth of research and discussion.

Borden Dairy Co. filed for bankruptcy, becoming the second major U.S. milk seller to do so in two months as competitive pressures, declining consumption and falling profits made its debt load unsustainable.

Known for its mascot Elsie the Cow, the Dallas-based company listed assets and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million in its Chapter 11 filing in Delaware. The company, founded more than 160 years ago, said in a statement that normal operations will continue while it works out a recovery plan.

A boom in dairy alternatives like soy, rice and nut milk, along with rising prices for raw milk have put the squeeze on Borden, Chief Financial Officer Jason Monaco said in court papers. Added pressure came from retailers investing in their own low-cost dairy products.

“While milk remains a household item in the United States, people are simply drinking less of it,” Monaco said. “In parallel, since the turn of the century, the number of U.S. dairy farms has rapidly declined.”

Wisconsin would lack adequate revenues to manage a moderate economic downturn without raising taxes or cutting services, according to a new analysis from Moody’s Analytics.

If a moderate recession were to strike, Wisconsin would face a shortfall equaling 4.8 percent of its total 2019 revenues, the analysis says. That’s the 11th worst outcome among the 50 states, according to Moody’s Analytics.

That state’s current rainy-day balance represents 1.9 percent of its 2019 revenues, the study found. The severity of the fiscal shock the state would face in a moderate recession equals 10.9 percent of the 2019 funds, according to the study.

Twenty-eight states were found to have adequate revenues to weather such a downturn in the future, the study said. But 10 states would have significantly less money on hand than they would need.

The stress test numbers show that states on average would need funds equaling 11.3% of their general fund revenues to weather the recession without tax hikes or service cuts, according to Moody’s Analytics.

The 2015-2017 biennial budget, Wisconsin Act 55, requires the Wisconsin Department of Revenue to annually report to the Joint Committee on Finance the actual or estimated amounts of state tax revenues generated by, and expenditures associated with, the additional full-time, audit-related positions created by Act 55.

This year was a record year for the audit initiative. “The initiative, which primarily focuses on out-of-state audits and investigations of out-of-state companies generating revenue in the state, is greatly surpassing all expectations,” notes Wisconsin Department of Revenue Secretary Peter Barca.

The Act 55 goal for FY2019 was additional audit collections of $82 million. Auditors and audit-related positions created by Act 55 generated $159.9 million, with an additional $857 million in assessments pending payment or appeal resolution as of June 30,2019. The resulting return on investment is 11.8 to 1.

Secretary Barca expects the audit initiative to continue providing real value to Wisconsin taxpayers. “Our goal is to ensure a level playing field for Wisconsin companies by making sure that their out-of-state competitors pay the taxes they owe. In the end, it’s about fairness and ensuring that Wisconsin businesses are not paying more than their fair share of taxes.”

Wisconsin’s population has grown every year since the 2010 Census. The gains have not been especially large, a net gain of between 9,400 to 18,300 people each year.

This last year was no different. The state added 15,028 people, an increase of 0.26%. The gain brings Wisconsin to a net increase of 135,448 people since 2010. The state’s 2.38% growth since 2010 ranks 37^th in the country.

Most of Wisconsin’s population gain in the last year came from its natural increase with 63,712 births outpacing the state’s 50,393 deaths. Total net migration added another 1,903 people with a net gain of 3,341 internationally offsetting the net loss of 1,438 people domestically.

Since 2010, Wisconsin has seen a net loss of 12,755 people through migration with the loss of 72,006 residents domestically outpacing a gain of 59,251 from outside the U.S.