Economist Coomes Addresses Budget Committee

A University of Louisville economist says he thinks the national recession is near an end, but immediate recovery is unlikely.Paul Coomes made the remarks in a speech to the Metro Council Budget Committee Wednesday. He told the committee the recession resembles a self-correction in the market following a housing bubble and several economic boom years."I think we got somewhat spoiled by 20-25% growth rates in our 401(k)s and our mutual funds and we forget that we had two incredible bull markets over this period that really raised the value of our assets," he said.Coomes says he's not sure where the growth that follows recessions will come from. He also predicts unemployment will get worse before it gets better.The city's budget relies on employment taxes. Revenue predictions for the next fiscal year have not yet been completed, but Mayor Abramson has said that negative or flat growth is likely.