Peter Morici

Why Elizabeth Warren’s new health care plan will fail

Health care has been the number one topic in the Democratic debates. President Trump should take heed -- rising health care costs and candidate fitness for leadership will dominate the 2020 campaign.

December 4, 2019

How party loyalty corrupts democracy

My grandfather, a buttonhole maker, had three loyalties -- family, his union and the Democratic Party. His politics were tribal, and he embraced politicians who often worked against his interests.

November 28, 2019

How Britain’s elections could sound the death knell for the European Union

Boris Johnson now has a good shot at winning a workable majority in Parliament to pull the U.K. out of the EU. This will prove a turning point for Europe -- rather than enabling consolidation of the continental bloc, Brexit will provide the contrast that blows it apart.

November 25, 2019

Why the economy will not save Trump

Republicans are counting on a strong economy and energized base to re-elect President Trump. Economists who study such things agree but the major polls and recent off-year elections in Virginia and Kentucky tell a different story.

November 18, 2019

Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax will hinder economic growth and innovation

Ms. Warren proposes a 2 percent levy on individual fortunes over $50 million and 3 percent on those over $1 billion to raise about $2.75 trillion over 10 years.

November 7, 2019

Getting skyrocketing drug prices back down to earth

Prescription drug prices are rocketing into the stratosphere, and Democrats in Congress have a sensible plan to bring those back down to earth. Currently, pharmaceutical companies can set whatever price they like for new drugs, because Medicare is not permitted to negotiate or set reimbursements.

October 29, 2019

How to fix Washington

In the snows of New Hampshire, yet another American president could emerge pledging to fix Washington -- the political gridlock and the pervasive influence of "evil" special interests and K Street lobbyists.

October 16, 2019

Why the Trump administration should get serious about a cheaper dollar

The Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and other foreign monetary authorities are engaged in a dangerous race to the bottom -- pushing interest rates to perilously low levels.

October 7, 2019

Raising the gas tax to rebuild infrastructure, boost the economy

The economy needs a jolt to keep growing. President Trump and Democrats should put aside differences to boost infrastructure investment and modernize cities and rural technology.

September 25, 2019

Why Britain should bolt and join NAFTA

The European Union, spread over 28 countries and 24 official languages, may make sense as a free trade area similar to NAFTA but virtually none as a broader economic community and political union.

September 19, 2019

Democrats and Detroit need a dose of reality about electric cars

Democratic presidential hopefuls and automakers are betting big on new technologies to rid cars of fossil fuels and field self-driving vehicles.

September 4, 2019

Sticking with stocks in a volatile market

These are vexing times for ordinary folks saving and investing for college expenses and retirement. With stocks exhibiting extreme volatility and growth slowing in all the major economies, many individual investors are rebalancing portfolios toward bonds -- savvy investors will resist this temptation and stick with stocks.

August 26, 2019

Who’s winning the trade war?

To listen to the White House, America is winning the trade war with China, but like other great struggles, a few battles won does not necessarily equate with victory. And progress in trade wars is not like military operations where victories can be measured by territories gained and populations pacified.

August 13, 2019

Why Washington should get behind Facebook’s Libra

Few things unite Democrats in Congress, the Trump administration and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell like opposition to Facebook's Libra. Instead, they should get behind the new cryptocurrency by crafting effective regulation.

August 8, 2019

When the economy delivers troubling news for the Trump re-election

The U.S. economy just delivered bad news to the White House -- the Trump miracle economy is over.

August 1, 2019

Why college is a waste for many high school graduates

Across the country, millions of families are preparing to send their 18-year-olds off to college -- for many, this will be the worst thing they ever did to their children.

July 23, 2019

The existential crisis posed by mass immigration

Western civilization faces an existential crisis. Mass immigration, low birth rates and China's rise pose challenges our political institutions and economies appear ill-equipped to confront.

July 17, 2019

Libra, a Facebook plan for digital currency, poses challenges for the Federal Reserve

Facebook recently announced it plans to launch a digital currency — Libra. It could deliver on Bitcoin's failed promise to create digital money that supplants many of the international functions of the dollar and the monopolies the Federal Reserve and other central banks enjoy creating and controlling widely accepted means of exchange and stores of wealth.

July 8, 2019

Why breaking up Google or Facebook won’t solve anything

Democrats in Congress with help from a few Republicans are eager to abuse antitrust enforcement to curb Big Tech — Facebook, Apple, Google and Amazon (FAGA). This would be a terrible abuse of the law for problems where bigness contributes little and breaking them up won't solve much.

June 24, 2019

How the Trump tariffs tarnish America’s brand

Tariffs are crude instruments. These can raise profits and employment in protected industries but the United States and other western democracies have worked hard to lower those — and other trade barriers like subsidies, preferences in procurement for domestic suppliers and lax protection for intellectual property — because those make us poorer by frustrating the efficient global allocation of industry based on skills and natural resources and discourage R&D.

June 18, 2019