WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Former International Trade Commission economist Peter Morici said Friday the U.S. presidential nominees should focus on banking regulations and trade deficits.
Morici, currently a professor at the University of Maryland School of Business, said "wrong headed regulation of the financial sector ... does not protect Americans from the destructive abuses on Wall Street."
Since 2000, "most of the (economic) gains have gone to private equity funds, hedge funds, investment bankers, executive buyouts, and the financial engineers that run the deals," Morici said.
"Perceptions that too many of the gains are falling into the hands of hedge fund traders, Wall Street bankers and rock stars have a solid foundation in the data," he said.
Morici described Wall Street as dominated by deal making that helped, mostly, the deal makers. "These put together firms, take them a part, get paid up front, extract billions in shareholder value, and then leave shareholders with vague promises about future synergies and depressed stock prices," he said.
Morici urged the presidential candidates to address the trade deficit. "Over the last 102 months, manufacturing has shed more than 3.9 million jobs. The trade deficit with China and other Asia exporters is a major culprit," he said.
