Dr. Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland, has published a piece detailing exactly why the U.S. economy is in serious trouble.  Among his chief concerns:

Fifteen million Americans are unemployed, more than 450,000 register for new jobless benefits each week, and factoring in folks relegated to part time work but preferring full-time employment and those too discouraged to seek jobs, the unemployment rate is much closer to 20 percent than 10.

Morici sees the unbalanced U.S. trade relationship with China as a major problem:

China exports about $330 billion annually to the United States but purchases less than $90 billion here. Simply, China suppresses the value of the yuan to make its products artificially cheap in U.S. stores and imposes protectionist obstacles to American exports...a 40 percent subsidy from an undervalued yuan and a 25 percent tariff on cars compels General Motors to produce there instead of Michigan.

Morici says that one of the only ways the problem can be addressed is if the President "wells up the courage to confront China and reins in abuses on Wall Street." Read more.