As a small business owner, I understand the anxiety of operating a company during tumultuous and uncertain economic times. I can recall months where I worked 6 AM to midnight just to make ends meet. I think that it is important to understand the many factors that affect our state and local economy so that we can address them.

On September 6th, the Assembly Jobs Committee held an Informational Hearing on Economic Outlook and invited the Department of Revenue (DOR) to testify before the Committee. In general, the DOR said that Wisconsin should continue to outperform Midwestern states and the nation, but domestic and international downward trends will affect our economy.

Internationally, staple items are becoming more expensive and oil prices are high. The European debt crisis continues to be an issue. Domestically, there are a number of weaknesses affecting the economy. The U.S. Census bureau issued a report that showed median household income has dropped nationally and in Wisconsin.

The U.S. housing market is continuing to face challenges. The U.S. debt ceiling was raised, and shortly after, the S&P downgraded the U.S. credit rating. The latest national jobs report was flat showing that the U.S. is not immune from global dips in the economy.

The nation’s leading economic forecasting firm, IHS Global Insight, has lowered their forecasts for the U.S.’s real GDP growth and employment growth, and they expect national unemployment to be higher than was expected. However, there was a bright spot. They expect fairly strong wage gains nationally through 2013.

In Wisconsin, revenue collections for Fiscal Year 2011 were within 0.10% of estimates. The Department of Revenue also expects Wisconsin’s income and sales taxes to be on track as we move forward. Wage gains and an increase in employment opportunities should be seen in Wisconsin. Encouraging news is that the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia projects less weakness in Wisconsin because our state is growing versus other parts of the nation and the Midwest.

The Department of Revenue stated that Wisconsin needs to improve its tax and regulatory environment. Income and property taxes in Wisconsin are generally 25% above the national average and our regulatory atmosphere needs reforms.

This informational hearing was extremely important to understanding what Wisconsin can do to improve economically and how it compares with other parts of the nation. Our actions as a legislature these past nine months have added more certainty in Wisconsin, but I know there is still much work to do to help families struggling in an unpredictable economy.

If you would like to watch a recording of the hearing, please go to the following link: http://www.wiseye.org/videoplayer/vp.html?sid=6310.