Economist Dr. Peter Linneman Discusses the Deficit, Opportunities and Perils in the Retail Real Estate Economy with Tommy Miller – President, and Terry Montesi – Chairman/CEO.
Contact
Tommy Miller
tmiller@trademarkproperty.com
Miller: Now that the election is behind us, and Washington is still trying to avoid the “fiscal cliff”, what’s your take on what this means for the real estate economy and consumer sentiment?
Linneman: It’s interesting. I think that the consumer largely shrugged off the “fiscal cliff” concern, not brushing it off as a serious issue, but they correctly brushed off that anything serious would get done about it. The reality still hangs out there and is a big problem and it’s not going to get solved soon or easily. That is, the fundamental deficit issue. I think somehow the consumer understands that it’s not going to get solved soon or fundamentally, but I think they’ve understood that if the deficit’s going up a lot faster than it ever has before, and it’s done it now for a number of years, and the baby boom’s going to start retiring which means they stop paying and start receiving, it’s not going to be good.
Miller: They’ve counted it into their behavior?
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