Here come the conventions and lots more political wackiness. Isn't it about time the candidates stop wearing either red or blue ties? How about a good looking Hermes or would that be too elitist? If Barack is true to himself he'll wear a purple one on Thursday night at his "big tent" acceptance speech. And the flag lapel pins seem to have seen their day. I hope Obama skips that little touch. People seem to forget that practice started with Richard Nixon and H.R. Haldeman in the Watergate days--they were always sporting flag pins as if they were some kind of shield. It didn't work... I really can't wait until next week when we hear Rudy tell us all in his keynote that our lives depend on electing John McCain, who will protect us by stomping on any countries who would dare do us harm. The only problem is all our armed forces are tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan (where the big stick hasn't exactly worked) so we might have problems protecting places like Georgia. And Osama is still on dialysis somewhere in Pakistan... On the economy front, the no new taxes approach still sounds great. Only problem is everyone wants defense, Medicare, Social Security and all the big ticket items that make up the lion's share of the federal budget. And then on top of those must haves, taxpayers must fund all the considerable debt service we've already run up, because our government has registered such large deficits for so many years thanks in part to all those tax cuts. The funny thing is the Republicans always seem to win on this issue, because all the working class stiffs, who have seen their wages stagnate and healthcare costs spiral, aspire to be ultra rich and don't want to lose anything if they get lucky and win the lottery... On Saturday, Joe Biden said Americans need leaders who will level them. I'm waiting--can we really stand the truth and will any of the candidates take the chance we can?
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Jonathan D. Miller
A marketing communication strategist who turned to real estate analysis, Jonathan D. Miller is a foremost interpreter of 21st citistate futures – cities and suburbs alike – seen through the lens of lifestyles and market realities. For more than 20 years (1992-2013), Miller authored Emerging Trends in Real Estate, the leading commercial real estate industry outlook report, published annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He has lectures frequently on trends in real estate, including the future of America's major 24-hour urban centers and sprawling suburbs. He also has been author of ULI’s annual forecasts on infrastructure and its What’s Next? series of forecasts. On a weekly basis, he writes the Trendczar blog for GlobeStreet.com, the real estate news website. Outside his published forecasting work, Miller is a prominent communications/institutional investor-marketing strategist and partner in Miller Ryan LLC, helping corporate clients develop and execute branding and communications programs. He led the re-branding of GMAC Commercial Mortgage to Capmark Financial Group Inc. and he was part of the management team that helped build Equitable Real Estate Investment Management, Inc. (subsequently Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Inc.) into the leading real estate advisor to pension funds and other real institutional investors. He joined the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S. in 1981, moving to Equitable Real Estate in 1984 as head of Corporate/Marketing Communications. In the 1980's he managed relations for several of the country's most prominent real estate developments including New York's Trump Tower and the Equitable Center. Earlier in his career, Miller was a reporter for Gannett Newspapers. He is a member of the Citistates Group and a board member of NYC Outward Bound Schools and the Center for Employment Opportunities.
