BURLINGTON, Vt. -
The middle of the holiday season means gift giving and buying are near their peak.
But are business owners confident that consumers will spend big with the fiscal cliff looming. We hit the Church Street Marketplace to hear from local retailers.
"It's looming," Homeport owner Frank Bouchett said.
He sees uncertainty on the horizon in the fiscal cliff.
"I think it's definitely going to have an effect," Bouchett said.
"The longer it goes on the more effect it's going to have."
But not all feel the same like Mike Donohue, co-owner of Outdoor Gear Exchange.
"I don't think the actual fiscal cliff or the December 31st deadline is going to have much of an impact in the short term," Donohue said.
It's consumer confidence that worries some. A Reuters/University of Michigan poll found it was at 82.7 in November. Economists thought it would fall but stay around 82 but instead it dipped to 74.5.
"But again in Vermont we don't really do things the Washington way," Donohue said.
We caught up with some Vermonters walking down Church Street to see if the fiscal cliff weighed heavy on their wallets.
"I'm trying to limit what I buy and I think I'm going to go with crafts more my Christmas gifts," McLain Cheney said half-jokingly.
"I don't think it's really going to happen and if it does it will be dealt with pretty quickly," Chris Chaterton said.
"Even when I walk down Church Street I feel like there's a huge divide between people with money and without money," Tarama Brown said, worried about others in Vermont.
"Yes it's a national issue but it's also local."
