Tom Potiowsky has held the role of state economist for Oregon since 1999, making him responsible for predicting Oregon’s economy.
Tom Potiowsky has held the role of state economist for Oregon since 1999, making him responsible for predicting Oregon’s economy.
The pressure on the job seems to be tougher during a downturn, when revenues are falling. People hate bad news, and you become the bearer of bad news. When you’re having to drop the forecast, and you’ve dropped it and you thought, ‘Jeez, I’ve really dropped it quite a bit. This should be it. We shouldn’t have to drop this anymore,’ and then the full depths of the recession show itself and it’s even worse than your worst dreams and you have to drop it again. Legislators are trying to figure out how to still provide services and the revenues to do so aren’t there. There’s frustration all around.
The Statesman Journal has a Q&A with Oregon’s most prominent fortuneteller.
