Peter Morici
Columns by Peter Morici
Whether decoupling or de-risking, trading with China will remain perilous
Presidents Trump and Biden don't share a lot in terms of style or substance, but in two areas, continuity prevails: a commitment to limiting the risks of doing business with China and a suspicion of unmanaged, market-driven globalization. Published July 18, 2023
Biden-Powell economic policies continue to fail
Inflation is proving one tough dragon to slay. Published July 11, 2023
Failing to back NATO membership for Ukraine, U.S. cedes Pacific to China
The United States is dangerously close to ceding the Pacific and global economic leadership to China by not providing Ukraine with adequate long-term security commitments and weapons to dislodge the Russian army. Published July 4, 2023
Americans will rue the day Fed paused interest rate increases
The Federal Reserve's pause in interest rate increases opens the door to stagflation. Published June 27, 2023
Biden debt ceiling deal boots fiscal crisis to the next president
The recent agreement to suspend the debt ceiling until 2025 was a political win for President Biden -- it burnished his image as a bipartisan dealmaker -- but it's an economic disaster. Published June 20, 2023
Biden’s protectionism drives emerging economies into China’s hands
America, NATO and our Pacific allies have been dragged into a new era of hostility with a loose alliance of autocratic states: China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and perhaps now Saudi Arabia. Published June 13, 2023
Biden reelection bid in trouble, but GOP hopefuls offer little challenge
Measured by legislative accomplishments, President Biden is the most successful president since Ronald Reagan, but he faces skeptical voters in his bid for reelection. Published June 6, 2023
Putin has made rules giving him best chance of winning in Ukraine
The Ukrainian army is about to launch its counteroffensive to take back territory in the east and south and cut off Crimea from occupying Russia. Published May 30, 2023
Don’t panic about China’s or America’s falling birthrates
China shocked the world earlier this year with news its population fell in 2022, For the first time since the Maoist famines, deaths outnumbered births and the headcount slipped by 850,000 to a mere 1.41 billion. Published May 23, 2023
Powell’s risks of pausing interest rate increases too soon
Earlier this month, Federal Reserve policymakers again raised interest rates but indicated they are prepared to pause any further tightening. Published May 16, 2023
Biden’s industrial policy will create bureaucratic morass
It's long overdue, but America has a 21st-century industrial policy. Unfortunately, it could do more harm than good. Published May 9, 2023
Leveraging European markets to end war in Ukraine and ease tensions over Taiwan
The United States needs detente with China in the Pacific -- lest the new Cold War morph into a kinetic conflict over Taiwan and control of the maritime commerce through the vital South China Sea. Published May 2, 2023
Tougher bank regulations won’t head off next financial crisis
The Silicon Valley Bank collapse has provoked the usual caterwauling about bank regulation. But tougher rules could do more harm than good and likely won't avert the next crisis. Published April 25, 2023
America would be lucky to have only a cold war with China
Foreign policy elites are fretting about a cold war with China, but we should be thankful if that's all we get. Published April 18, 2023
Powell faces tough road maintaining independent Federal Reserve
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell faces a tough road fending off politicians who like easy money, maintaining stability in the banking system and lowering inflation to 2%. Published April 11, 2023
How to fix banks without more regulation
The Silicon Valley Bank debacle should not be a siren call for more bank regulation. Published April 4, 2023
West needs new trade system to confront threats posed by Russia and China
Business leaders, politicians and intellectuals are bewailing death threats to globalization and blaming populists and nationalists like former President Donald Trump for erecting barriers to commerce. Published March 28, 2023
Blame Biden’s big spending for wages not keeping pace with inflation
Wages aren't keeping up with inflation, and that will be a headache for President Biden in 2024. Published March 21, 2023
Federal courts, not state ones, should decide congressional redistricting disputes
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether state legislatures have ultimate authority for drawing congressional district boundaries or those can be appealed to state courts. Published March 14, 2023
Biden’s losing Cold War strategies
The United States is in a new Cold War with China -- and something more with Russia -- but President Biden's overreliance on sanctions and protectionism is self-defeating. Published March 7, 2023
