Former U.S. Treasury secretary wary of deflationary effects.

• Author: Taylor, Mike
• Position: ECONOMY

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow says the U.S. economy is showing signs of recovery, but he warns that threats remain, and if deflation were to occur it could cause a recession relapse, what he calls a "double dip" such as that experienced in the Great Depression.

"I think we've avoided the darkest and most difficult scenario," said Snow, who served as Treasury secretary under George W. Bush from 2003 to 2006. But tempering that guarded optimism, he pointed out there was a short-lived recovery in the early stages of the Great Depression, too, before the economy plunged again.

"We were coming out of the recession in 1933, and then in 1937 the Fed pursued restrictive policies, and the unemployment rate shot up again. And we had the replay of the recession in 1937," Snow told a crowd of about 2,000 attendees at the downtown Denver Hyatt Regency on Aug. 25.

Snow was brought in by the Aurora Economic Development Council as the keynote speaker for A-List 2009, an annual event that celebrates economic success in the state. This year's event highlighted the work of Accelerate Colorado, which hosts an annual business mission consisting of 100 leaders from business, government, education and economic development who travel to Washington D.C., to advocate for federal support.

Also during the event, Accelerate Colorado gave its A-List Leadership Award to Colorado's entire...