The Star Tribune’s Adam Belz quotes Michael Mandel on the flaws of the GDP data and the state of the Minnesota economy:
“(The numbers) don’t mean what they look like they mean,” Mandel said. “Minnesota manufacturing is not nearly so robust as the numbers make it appear.”
Growth in manufacturing in Minnesota and the rest of the U.S. is a mirage, Mandel said. He goes into great detail for his reasons here, but basically he doesn’t think the output figures are accurate.