Bush official has advice for state leaders

PHOENIX - President George W. Bush's chief economic advisor had some advice for Arizona leaders on how to recover from the recession.

Edward Lazear said Arizona needs to rely less on construction and try to attract jobs in health care and education. "Those are the kinds of areas that I think are less cyclically sensitive. Obviously, health care is not cyclically sensitive."

"Education which got hit reasonably hard this time relative to other past experiences is still not very cyclically sensitive."

Lazear said the downturn in the housing market meant Arizona was one of the first states into the recession, but added it could be one of the first ones out. "The one thing we know from the data is that it's easier to retrace your footsteps than blaze new trails. What that means at the national level, of course, the deeper the recession, the quicker the recovery."

This recession should be a lesson to leaders in Arizona and other states. He says they need to set aside money when times are good to help the state get through tough times when the economy is weak.