June 19, 2013

Washington Secrets

Walmart boss: 'Fiscal cliff' hits Christmas spending

BY: PAUL BEDARD DECEMBER 12, 2012 | 12:08 PM
Leave a comment

The economic reality of the nation going over the "fiscal cliff" is already hurting retailers hoping to cash in on Christmas shopping.

Walmart President Mike Duke, speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations Tuesday, suggested that his customers are growing worried about the impact of the huge tax hikes that will kick in if Congress and President Obama can't cut a deal by the end of the year.

According to the Council, Duke said:

"The week before the election, only one-fourth, 25 percent of our core customers even knew what 'fiscal cliff' meant. One week after the election it was up to 75 percent. Now...15 percent of our customers are telling us the conversation on the fiscal cliff will affect their Christmas spending."

View article comments Leave a comment

More from washingtonexaminer.com

From the Weekly Standard

  • Frack to the Future

    Williston, N.D.

    Read More...
  • Downsize Ike

    The beleaguered Eisenhower Memorial Commission holds its next public gathering later this month, and before its members duck-walk into the hearing room, huddled in a hoplite phalanx against a...

    Read More...
  • The Lesson of Kermit Gosnell

    What was the lesson of the Kermit Gosnell trial? Since the Philadelphia doctor was convicted last month of murdering three born-alive infants, two competing viewpoints have emerged.

    Read More...