Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Who Said That?

"I remember when a trillion dollars was a lot of money."

-- Raymond James Financial CEO Paul Reilly

The CEO of the largest regional brokerage beyond Wall Street says he gladly gave President Barack Obama his vote in 2008. But now he's going to support Mitt Romney after four years of the country making little progress on important fiscal issues.

The first of three Obama vs. Romney debates Wednesday night seems unlikely to change Reilly's stance.

"I remember when a trillion dollars was a lot of money," Raymond James Financial CEO Paul Reilly told the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club. Tackling the country's national debt and huge budget deficit will take the new president and both sides of Congress to work together.

Is that even possible?

"One extreme says we can't raise taxes. The other extreme says we can't cut spending," Reilly said. "Nonsense. We must do both."

Read more at the Tampa Bay Times.