James Bullard, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, has a bullish outlook on the next couple of years.
In a presentation during the annual Wisconsin Economic Forecast Luncheon in Madison on Thursday, Bullard predicted 3.2 percent growth this year and next year, adding that the housing market would continue to recover, unemployment would continue to tick down and inflation would remain under control.
He said the “wild card” was the Euro-zone and its financial problems, saying a lot of the uncertainty in the U.S. economy had been settled with the election.
See a press release and background info from Bullard’s presentation
At the same event, Gov. Scott Walker said he’d be unveiling part of his plan for an income tax cut and investment capital legislation during next week’s State of the State address.
Walker described the income tax cut as putting a “down-payment” on future tax reform and indicated to reporters after that it would be one step toward a phased-in overall income tax reduction.
“As we continue to see more economic growth, we’d like to plow that in to continue lowering the cost of doing, both in doing business for small businesses, as well as lowering the tax burden for middle-class taxpayers, particularly in the state of Wisconsin,” Walker said.
Walker used his talk to lay out the five priorities in his next budget, highlight the successes of his first term, and defend the WEDC.
He defended the work of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., saying that despite problems with the former chief financial officer and the corporation’s loan portfolio, the private-public organization has been “wildly successful” in helping create new jobs.
“They have and will continue to be aggressive in reaching out to regional, county and local economic development efforts to make sure there are multiple layers and but one spot where potential employers and existing employers will go to expand the number of jobs and opportunities they have in the state of Wisconsin,” Walker said.
Walker also said some of his talks around the state have led to changes in his budget plan but that he’ll focus on job creation, education, infrastructure and government reform.
