"Paul Blart Mall Cop" was the nation's number one movie again last week. Is this just another leading indicator of the country's fall into the abyss? Well under the circumstances a few dumb laughs may be better than watching Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's suburban bliss disintegrate in "Revolutionary Road"--that may hit too close to home (as in foreclosures), or "Slumdog Millionaire"--Bollywood and India surpassing Hollywood and USA in optimism and determination. At least Mr. Blart is gainfully employed at being a numb-skull. And how many folks at Merrill Lynch are thanking John Thain for rushing out their bonus checks days before the Bank of America deal closed? Of course, Merrill would have followed Lehman into bankruptcy save for the government's forced marriage with B of A and a heavy dose of TARP. Now, thanks in part to this deal, B of A is on the brink along with Citi, which taps Dick Parsons (he used to be a banker before Time Warner) as its new Chairman. Parsons, a gracious guy, couldn't figure out what to do with AOL--can he or anyone else save Citi?

Soon Congress will pass an $800 billion stimulus which looks like a combination of all the programs Democrats couldn't get passed over Bush vetos and some more tax cuts (they sure worked) to throw a few bones to Republicans--that's the new spirit of bipartisanship... Paul Blart where are you when we need you?

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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.