DiverCity

Ghost Malls: Coming to Your Town

Folks, you've got to be able to extrapolate. To say that the malls will be used for shelters or churches or what not, and that this somehow lessens the impact of the anticipated retail failures, ignores that if they do result there won't be a lot of money spent on geegaws that are sold in the mall, that employment will contract greatly, and that property tax revenues will plummet. This is a microcosm of what is happening with the velocity of money -- it's slowing precipitously. It's a very vicious deflationary maelstrom that feeds on itself. Social mood has indeed changed for many (but of course not all) Westerners. Pocket books are closing and it's hard to pry them open because people fear losing their jobs and the consequent inability to pay off all the ridiculous debt they've incurred. In short, I think you ignore what Mr. Quinn says at your own peril if you think it's all just pessimistic gloom and doom.