Bob CollinsState economist Tom Stinson is probably too nice of a guy to say “I told you so” to Gov. Pawlenty. Besides, he’s got his hands full finishing up what’s reported to be a bleak Minnesota revenue forecast, which he’ll deliver later this week.
But last February, Stinson said, “We’re in a recession.”
“Tom Stinson tends to be a bit on the pessimistic side of things, to put it charitably…I don’t think it’s helpful – unless it’s clearly justified by the data – for people to get overly pessimistic or overly scare people, either,” Gov. Tim Pawlenty said at the time.
Today, nine months later, the National Bureau of Economic Research has reached a conclusion that Stinson figured out nine months ago. The U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007.
