Talk Back

Gasoline prices are zooming past $4 a gallon, and the nation is hardly freer from the grip of imported oil or closer to robust economic recovery. With his approval ratings dropping precipitously, President Barack Obama is blaming speculators and investigating fraud and at the pump, when this mess is the direct result of failed federal energy policies.

By word and deed, the Obama administration has sought to limit off-shore oil exploration and development, and hasten the commercial viability of solar, wind and alternative vehicle technologies.

All this is based on two erroneous, but strongly-held beliefs among liberal policy makers, academics and pundits–increasing oil U.S. production would do little to lower U.S. gas prices, and but for the vested interests of multinational oil companies, mankind would have long ago harnessed renewable energy sources and freed itself from the sin of burning hydrocarbons. 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:

Whether the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction reaches a deal to reduce the federal deficit by at least $1.2 trillion or stalemates on Nov. 23, Democrats appear intent on handicapping the national economy with higher taxes and imperiling national security by cutting defense. Those are the wrong places to solve the nation’s budget woes.

In 2007, just prior to the financial crisis and when Democrats took control of Congress, the deficit was a manageable $161 billion. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were ongoing, and Bush tax cuts and prescription benefits for seniors were in place.

In 2011, two years after the recession ended, the deficit is $1.3 trillion. Spending is up $847 billion, and additional temporary tax cuts–such as the payroll tax holiday–account for the rest. Of the $847 billion, only $62 billion was necessary to accommodate inflation, and social security, health care and other entitlements account for 78% of the rest.

Repeatedly, Democrats President Barack Obama and Majority Leader Harry Reid have exhorted Social Security is not contributing to the deficit, but the program began paying out more than its receipts in 2009, and the Trust Fund will be entirely depleted by 2036. 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’s State of the Union address and Rep. Paul Ryan’s Republican response offered few new ideas and weren’t forthright about what needs to be done to get America thriving again.

The November elections plainly established voters want less government and a focus on jobs, and they don’t believe Americans have to choose between the two.

President Obama proposed freezing domestic discretionary spending to reduce the deficit by $400 billion over 10 years, but he offered no substantive changes to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and other entitlements. That simply doesn’t cut it.

In 2007, the year before the recession, government spending was $2.7 trillion–less than 20% of gross domestic product–and the deficit was a manageable $161 billion. In 2011, with the economy recovered, spending will top $3.8 trillion–more than 25% of GDP–and the deficit will be about $1.4 trillion

Simply, the Democrats took control of the Congress in 2007 and used the recession as cover to permanently increase spending on the regulatory bureaucracy, entitlements and industrial policies by $1.1 trillion, and the leading edge of the Baby Boomers has begun to tax the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.

Now, the president proposes to address about 40% of the gap over the next decade. Essentially, he is laying a trap–daring Republicans to solve runaway health-care costs and Social Security, knowing how Americans react to the bearers of bad news.

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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:

Last August, I wrote that on marquee issues–health care reform, cap and trade and the recession–the Democrats are unwilling to listen to the legitimate concerns of center-leaning voters and business leaders who made possible their victories in 2008, and arrogance will destroy their grip on power.

Now it has happened in Virginia and New Jersey.

Americans have grown weary of Nancy Pelosi’s left-leaning colleagues forcing on the majority of Americans a minority solution on health care–the Public Option as a Trojan Horse for a single-payer system. President Obama promising not to raise taxes on the middle class but forcing health-care reforms that will raise the cost of health insurance by one or two thousand dollars a year for the typical middle class family.

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World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) Chief Executive Linda McMahon stepped down, one day after joining the increasingly crowded Republican field looking to take on embattled Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon will assume the additional duties of CEO, supported by “the seasoned executive management team already in place,” the wrestling entertainment and media company said.

The announcement came as WWE grapples with the weak economy and competition from sports such as kickboxing. Still, WWE’s profit nearly tripled in the latest quarter amid cost cuts as revenue rose 7%.

Linda McMahon, 60 years old, is the fourth Republican to declare her candidacy, following former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, state Sen. Sam Caligiuri and former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley. Dodd will be seeking a sixth term in next year’s election.

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By Neal Lipschutz
   A DOW JONES NEWSWIRES COLUMN 

The fine imposed on Bank of America Corp. for allegedly misleading investors about big bonuses it agreed could be paid to Merrill Lynch & Co. executives just before the struggling Merrill was subsumed into BofA illustrates the Securities and Exchange Commission’s punishment conundrum.

There’s no doubt the BofA action, or lack of disclosure, is a serious matter. Yes, it was a frantic time in the annals of American capitalism. The system was rocked. Still, basic tenets of shareholder rights, such as disclosure of material information, must always be respected.

Imagine the position of a theoretical, long-time shareholder of Bank of America. He was an owner when the merger was coming together. He is  frustrated and angry by the SEC’s allegations against Bank of America.

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