Thoughts on REITs being negative to an economic system?

Readers of my blog likely knows I'm fond of REITs; they offer a place in income investing portfolios and I have a preference to regular realised gains as opposed to purely paper gain despite less sensitivity to the bull. In spite of the rising interest rate environment, I thought with the right screening and selection of REIT, an investor can still benefit just as much as buying stocks of companies.

I come across Donovan's post (link to his financial blog here, and the Facebook group here) in his Facebook group that kind of blew my mind as this line of thought has never really come across my mind. The article links to a news article that Giant is closing off their Vivocity outlet in 2019 (link to the news here).

(Note to Don: Hope you don't mind if I borrow your article for sharing - if by any chances you wish for this to be taken off, please let me know!)

To quote him,

<< REITS -- one of the worst financial innovations in the world >>:

REITS are one of the worst financial innovations in this world. REITS are leeches -- they are parasites sucking the blood of an economic system. This financial engineering hinders entrepreneurship, especially among the youngs. It rewards lazy fat cats and indirectly punishes labour and SMEs. It increases cost of living with every rise in interest rate. How? REITS seek to pass increased borrowing costs from increased interest rates through increased rentals. This heightens costs of living, especially when their malls are all around, that even small businesses will try to peg their prices correlation-ally to the malls. When rise in interest rates are supposed to dampen inflation and suppress inflation, REITS heighten the inflation as they need to pass the interest rate costs to businesses. Their dynamics negatively disrupt progress more than they stimulate progress.

As someone working in an SME, I know about how the lack of resources could hinder a company's progress towards growth more so than say, an MNC.

And then, what about banks? Doesn't the same applies to bank loans or credit facilities then?

Having said that, this will not stop me from having REIT in my portfolio. More likely rising interest rate will deter investing in REIT instead.

Readers, what view do you have towards REITs in this light?