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These are the personal views of Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission:

Stocks are tumbling, as investors realize President Obama is simply not offering policies that will fix the U.S. and global economies.

Each week more than 450,000 Americans apply for new unemployment benefits, and 17% of adults can’t find a full time job or have quit looking for work altogether.

Since Massachusetts voters sent Democrats a vote of no confidence, President Obama has been doubling down on bigger government and class warfare as the road to prosperity.

Meanwhile, the two biggest problems that block economic recovery go unaddressed-most businesses lack enough customers and access to bank credit to create jobs. Continue reading…

These are the personal views of Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission:

President Obama announced he wants to prohibit banks from forming hedge funds, private equity funds and trading securities on their own accounts, and he wants to limit the size of banks and financial institutions generally.

Hedge funds, private equity funds and proprietary securities trading did not cause the banks to get into trouble, and the size of banks did not cause the credit crisis.

Banks, small and large, failed or required bailouts because of poorly considered loans, and the kinds of engineered products that were created from those loans by non-bank entities.

Collateralized debt obligations and swaps created and marketed by non-bank financial institutions, such as Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs, compounded the errors of foolish bankers. Later, Goldman Sachs and other financial institutions became banks to access inexpensive credit from the Federal Reserve, but those decisions could be reversed if bank holding companies are not permitted to trade on their own accounts.

Continue reading…

These are the personal views of Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission:

President Barack Obama is at it again–pandering to rich and powerful political supporters, while portraying himself the guardian of the exchequer and champion of the little guy.

The president says his proposed tax on the capital of the largest banks and financial institutions is intended to recoup the Troubled Asset Relief Program money that has not or will not be repaid.

That is a flagrant attempt to confuse the public on two fronts. Continue reading…