Despite the fact that he believes the real-estate market is double-dipping and will create another $1 trillion in economic loss, New York University economist Nouriel Roubini says he expects the U.S. economy to expand by as much as 3 percent next year.

“The good news is that the recession is over … but there are several downside risks,” Roubini tells MSNBC. “The first one is that in spite of growth, firms are not hiring. Employment is still at nearly 10 percent.”

Roubini also notes that as soon as the housing tax credit expires, home sales will collapse again, that many U.S. state and local governments are essentially bankrupt, and that recent federal economic-stimulus moves have added $900 billion to the country’s debt.

Though necessary to some degree, austerity does choke off the possibility of economic growth, Roubini notes.

“In the short term, you need a stimulus because private demand is not going to cover it, but running large deficits forever” could result in a “train wreck like in Ireland, like in Greece.”

“To me, the way to square the circle is by having a short-term stimulus ... but then commit today to raising taxes … and committing today about (spending) cuts.”

Bloomberg reports that government bonds are falling the most in a year as the gap between yields on longer-term Treasurys show that the Federal Reserve’s second round of quantitative easing may be its last.

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