We've been borrowing our way out of the recession, and nothing else has kicked in to take over.

This really underscores that just because there's a booming housing market, it doesn't translate into strong economic growth. It suggests that consumption spending has a built-in speed limit to it. You just can't expect to grow very fast.

It certainly disrupted economic life in New York City; there's no doubt about that. But on the business side, I think a lot of it will be made up eventually, some of it right away and some of it more spread out.

The expectation was that the economy was going to get better and wages were going to rise and employment was going to increase. But you have the ingredients for a fundamentally different economic picture - one that's not so promising.

The shoulders of a borrower are always a little straighter than those of a beggar.

Live within your income, even if you have to borrow money to do so.