During a series of breakout sessions on the first day of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Real Estate Summit in Boston, industry leaders on Wednesday weighed in on an assortment of timely issues. The federal budget deficit (conservatively estimated to total $8.5 trillion over the next 10 years combined), the political climate in Washington, and the art of risk taking were among the topics on the minds of panelists. What follows are a few snippets from the panel discussions.
Peter Linneman, professor of real estate, finance, and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, commenting on the budget deficit:
“Fundamentally, I don’t see our way out of the budget deficit, even with a very strong recovery. I’m probably the most bullish out there saying we could generate 3 million to 3.5 million jobs a year. Even if we do that, we’re still at a 7% unemployment rate. We’ve still got a huge budget deficit that is unimaginable. And California is hopeless.
Continuing reading the full story: Sound Bites From the Floor at ULI in Boston