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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1992)
Election time makes loose purse strings, official says By Kathryn Borman Staff Reporter Presidential election years and the holiday season often add up to in creased consumer spending, and this year appears to be no exception, a" UNL official said. While consumer spending usually rises during the holidays, the eco nomic rise this year is expected to be greater than in the past three to four years, said Charles Lamphcar, direc tor of the Bureau of Business Re search. - it There 's a general feeling that people maybe think thingswill get better. Tucker treasurer of UNL College Republicans -9f “The election is viewed by most as positive regarding the economy get ting back on track,” Lamphear said. “It gives the impression of a fresh start. “This happens with any changes in the guard — you get that type of reaction.” But Lamphear predicted that, as in most holiday seasons, the economy would turn downward after the shop ping surge. “This is the seasonal reality of retail sales,” he said. The new presidential administra tion is expected to juggle short-term and long-term economic approaches, first to create jobs and get the economy back on us feel, and laier lo reduce the deficit, Lamphear said. Lamphear predicted consumers would give the new administration a chance to improve the economy be fore they lost confidence and reduced their spending. If the economy docs not pick up in the next few months, he said.consumcrsagain may turn pessi mistic. Nebraska consumers tend to be more conservative than those in other parts of the country, Lamphear said. Thus, Nebraska might not reflect the initial economic upturn as strongly as the rest of the nation, he said. For example, Lamphear said, con tinued bad weather may cause poor harvests for farmers across the state, resulting in decreased spending. John Austin, research associate at the Bureau of Business Research, said consumer confidence had been de creasing this year. But experts ex pected that it would rebound once the election was overfhe said. “The reason is nol lhat any one person was elected; the reason is lhat the speculation is over,” he said. Austin said presidential election years generally were good years eco nomically. This years upturn is re flected in improved consumer confi dence reports for October, he said. Lamphear said life economic up swing following thcclcclion might be caused by other factors as well as the presidential race. But because con sumer confidence is an art, nol a science, it is difficult to pinpoint the reasons for changes, he said. Suzanne Lipscy, president of UNL Young Democrats, said she saw a lot of optimism regarding the economy among students she knew, but she said she thought people still were cautious. Shane Tucker, treasurer of UNL College Republicans, said he thought the election had had little effect on students’ economic activities. “Most students arc nol enough in Lunc to the political situation to have any interest whatsoever,” he said. Tucker said he thought the eco nomic mood of the population as a whole also was unaffected by the election. However, he said, “there’s a gen eral feeling that people maybe think thiifgs will get better.” ' -■ - .u Includes: GROWN-UP CHRISTMAS LIST, AM ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE, and ::rK* HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS JIM SALESTROM of Timberline "Happy Holidays" Cassette "Grateful" Cassette or CD TOAD THE WET SPROCKET fear . including: IS IT FOR ME WALK ON THE OCEAN BUTTERFLYS BEFORE YOU WERE BORN STORIES I TELL i «N1 \IMI\ I PEARL JAM TEN including: ALIVE ^ ONCE WHY GO BLACK _.... .. * ' '— - Featuring LOVE’S TAKEN OVER ^ gj| PRECIOUS AS If WE NEVER MET WHO DO I TURN TO NORTHERN EXPOSURE Includes The Theme of The Emmy Award-Winning TViShow Plus Music By NAT KING COLE • LYNYRD SKYNYRD MIRIAM MAKEBA • ETTA JAMES And More THE IMPRESSIONISTS A Windham Hill Sampler BUY IT & YOU GET PICKLES SATISFACTION GUARANTEE! Nasty Niggas BANNED FROM THE PLANET DIVA INCLUDES: WHY LITTLE BIRD WALKING ON BROKEN GLASS PRECIOUS 5 ARISTA £ • ' r, w■ ■ - 'W '• •• . . -/• ... • . . 3814 Normal, 237 S. 70th, 17th L?, 56th L Hwy. 2 • Plus Four Stores in Omaha • Sale ends 12/11/92