By Lane Beattie, President & CEO
Last week the Chamber hosted David Wyss, Standard & Poor’s chief economist, at the Utah Economic Forum. The economy is a hot topic and business leaders, economists, journalists and engaged citizens all took time to listen to one of the world’s most renowned economists.
His message: the recession is over but that doesn’t mean things are back to where they were two years ago.
You may have heard some commentary that while the recession may be over on Wall Street, it surely isn’t over on Main Street. According to Wyss, that’s because the two have different definitions of what “over” means.
Wyss says the recession is over because we’ve hit the bottom. We are turning around and headed in the right direction. This is why Wall Street says the recession is over.
Main Street—meaning businesses of all sizes—disagrees because things aren’t what they were pre-recession. That’s true and may continue to be the case for awhile. Growth will come but, as Wyss puts it, it’s much easier to fall than to climb.
In the past, the Utah Economic Forum attracted some 100 attendees but we had nearly four times that number last week. When talented Utahns take on tough issues, you can bet the outcome will be positive.
I’m confident in the economic future of our state. We have the best managed state in the nation and our governor and State Legislature promote a very business-friendly local economy. Utah still has the nation’s youngest workforce and that has proven very attractive to businesses looking to relocate and/or expand their presence in Utah.
