Are we recovering yet?

Economist Ray Perryman thinks so.

Texas will be “last in, first out” among states battling the recession, although a recovery that has already started will require patience, a leading economist says.

The Lone Star State proved resilient because of advantages such as weather, stable home prices and a political climate favorable for companies seeking new places to do business, said Ray Perryman, head of the Perryman Group and a longtime Texas economist.

Still, Perryman said Texas has seen its share of difficulty since the state got caught up in the national economic downturn in summer 2008. Job losses mounted last year, and the outlook remains bleak for commercial real estate.

“The long-term story when people look back at it will be one of last in, first out. It’s also a story of us doing a little better than the rest of the country,” Perryman said. “Nonetheless, there’s going to be a legacy of pain. Three hundred thousand people did lose their job, and no one really escaped this.”

I’m not convinced that Texas will lead the way into recovery nationwide, but that’s just a feeling on my part. I’ll be perfectly happy if Perryman is right. Just let me know when we’re actually better off than we were at the time things started to tank.

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2 Responses to Are we recovering yet?

  1. Brown Bess says:

    Mr. Perryman is less an economist and more of a prostitute for whoever is paying him to say what they want said.

  2. John says:

    just go to his website, here are his words for Dec 2007

    “Cuts in interest rates by the Federal Reserve are helping prevent a general slowdown of the economy in the future, and acceptable inflation trends are providing time for the economy to become steady. In addition, job growth has been encouraging, and consumer spending (although vulnerable to oil price increases and credit concerns) remains stable.”

    Economists are worthless the only one who had this right was Rosenberg at Merrill Lynch.

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