Chris Stigall Talks To Senior Vice-President, Chief Economist For PNC Financial Services Group About The Overall State Of The Economy
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Chris Stigall talked to Stuart Hoffman, the Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist for the PNC Financial Services Group, on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT about the overall state of the economy.
Hoffman said, in the short, things are looking up for consumers.
"For the next few years, and I do think this drop in oil prices for countries like the US, China, India Japan, a lot of Western Europe that are much more importers...I think the net of the winners and loser is still a real positive, especially for Main Street... By our calculations, if gasoline averages about $2.40 a gallon this year, that's national average and we're actually below that right now, and it typically comes up in the spring. That's a dollar less and then last year and, the quick the math, that saves American motorists $110 Billion over the course of this year that they don't put into their gas tanks."
However, he stated his one major concern is the amount of student loan debt currently held by Americans.
"That number is bigger than all the credit card which is about just under $1 trillion. Consumers have actually been paying off credit cards on balance over the last five years as they got way over levered or over borrowed around the financial crisis. So, yes I am concerned. I'm concerned it's risen because the cost of education has gone up so much faster."
