Neal Asbury began his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America by harkening back to his roots in West Virginia and bemoaning the detrimental effect that the Obama War on Coal is having on his home state.
“I just heard from two cousins who were laid off their jobs because their coal mine was closed. Two other mines also closed. Coal is being discriminated against by the Obama administration and the EPA, which means a loss of jobs and the inability of manufacturers to tap into a source of inexpensive and abundant energy,” said Neal Asbury.
Joining the show as a first time guest was Republican Congresswoman, Shelley Moore Capito, who represents the people of West Virginia’s Second Congressional District in the 112th Congress. She has been an advocate for a range of policies that directly impact her constituents, including energy independence, quality healthcare and the safety and security of our service men and women.
“This administration is assaulting U.S. jobs by picking winners and losers in industries. Coal is the loser because this president has no energy policy. Instead, the EPA is setting the energy policy and coal is unwanted,” said Moore Capito.
She proposed that coal is the most abundant and affordable energy source in America, but environmentalists are against fossil fuel, even the new cleaner form of coal. She blames the EPA, which has no respect for the law, for setting policies, when they should actually be set by Congress.
“I hope that manufacturers will continue to use coal fired-plants because they will see that the cleaner forms of coal will be coming on line soon. They will be helped when Mitt Romney is elected president. There is no way that Obama’s war on coal will allow him to carry the state. I think Romney will win by 20 points in West Virginia,” added Moore Capito.
The show’s topic turned to exports, where Neal noted that the U.S. market share of world merchandise exports has declined from the 1980s and 1990s when it was 12 percent of the value of goods shipped globally, to only 8.5 percent today.
“That represents millions of lost jobs. And yet the president has outsourced our trade policy to unions that have tried to block every Free Trade Agreement, which actually creates more union jobs and boosts the economy. Obama took a victory lap after signing the Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia, even though these agreements were initiated by George Bush,” said Asbury, who added that China has signed 15 Free Trade Agreements and has 18 in process while the U.S. only has 17 signed Free Trade Agreements.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman added that the U.S. sphere of influence around the globe must be maintained if we are to be competitive in the international marketplace.
“Everyone is in the export game in a big way except the U.S. I am convinced that the Obama administration just doesn’t understand exports. They claim they want to double exports, but nothing is happening,” said Dr. Roffman, adding that exports will reenergize the manufacturing base and open new markets for the products that everyone wants: those Made in America.
Made in America’s next guest was Joel Piaskowski, Ford Motor Company’s director of exterior design, who played a key role in the development of the Ford Hybrid Fusion model, which was named the most efficient mid-size sedan in America.
“We are really excited about the Fusion, especially since after investing $550 million to build the Fusion plant in Flat Rock, we were able to hire 1,200 people. This new Fusion will fit in with the philosophy of our new CEO who wants to create car models that we can sell around the world,” said Piaskowski.
Piaskowski noted that his design team worked collaboratively with designers in other world markets to produce a Best in Class vehicle. Since the Fusion will require global sourcing, there should be other jobs created in the U.S. for parts manufacturing.
Joining the show was first time guest Greg Parker, the Owner of Gelato Fino Delectable Desserts—a family owned company.
“Even during the worst parts of the economy our business stayed steady, but we saw a nice bump as the economy started to rebound. Our products appeal to a broad audience range, including fine dining, where the focus is on quality, not price,” said Parker, who began his business as a retail operation before moving into fine dining and restaurants.
Once again, Asbury and co-host Dr. Rich Roffman introduced their weekly “Cronyism Report,” an ongoing look at how federal funding payouts are wasting taxpayer dollars.
“Cronyism sucks the life out of new ideas and new products developed by entrepreneurs who don’t have the Obama connections. Cronyism is rampant throughout the Obama administration. I shudder to think what will happen if he’s re-elected. Since nobody in the White House seems to have any control over what’s happening, cronyism will dominate every phase of his administration,” said Asbury.
Dr. Roffman proposed that the best job to have these days is to be an Obama bundler, because they receive the “spoils of war.”
“Now we have Cheryl Saban, the wife of billionaire Haim Saban, nominated as U.S. representative to the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Maybe it’s a coincidence that her husband has donated $1 million to Democratic candidates, and that he gave $330,000 to Obama’s Super PAC. And in another coincidence, although initially critical of the Obama administration’s stance on Israel, Haim Saban writes a very positive New York Times Op/Ed in which he praised Obama for his support of Israel. His wife’s appointment followed soon after,” said Dr. Roffman
Each week Neal Asbury’s Made in America provides Neal’s insights into the week’s top news stories and their impact on the worlds of entrepreneurship, small business ownership and the overall economy. Neal’s analysis, together with co-host Dr. Richard Roffman, a veteran 30-year publisher with extensive domestic and international experience, takes a non-biased approach based on real life experience in business as an American manufacturer and exporter. Made in America airs nationally each Saturday from 7-8:00 PM on Radio America. Link to Made in America at http://www.nealasburysmadeinamerica.com.
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