Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 44 stations) by making reference to a Reader’s Digest story that estimated that the U.S. government wastes more than $1 trillion a year. He added that when you factor in the $1 trillion of regulations costs directly affecting American business productivity, more than $2 trillion is being taken out of the economy, and along with it, U.S. jobs.
Joining the show as a first time guest, was Ryan Young, a fellow in regulatory studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, whose research focuses on the regulatory state at large, as well as individual rules. He emphasizes institution-level changes and increased transparency as the most effective reforms.
Young described the work of Texas’ Sunset Advisory Commission, which every year audits every state agency to see if they are fulfilling their charter. If they aren’t, the agency is abolished. Over the 29 years since the commission was formed, 78 state agencies have been abolished, which has saved Texas nearly $1 billion.
“Over their 29 years, the commission has spent $33 billion, but for every dollar spent, they saved $29.00. This is a lesson that should be learned by the federal government which enacts 3,500 new laws every year, or about 10 new rules a day. The trouble is that once a law passes, there is no oversight about the financial impact of the law,” said Young, who added that as result of Texas’ control of regulations, Texas’ workforce during the recession has added more jobs than all other states combined.
Neal and co-host Dr. Rich Roffman segued to a discussion of Obama’s call to raise the minimum wage to $9.00. Neal had recently appeared on the liberal iconic television and talk radio host Thom Hartmann’s The Big Picture show to discuss whether the minimum wage actually helped the workforce.
“The minimum wage has been raised 22 times since it was enacted in 1938. Even the U.S. government found that when the minimum wage was raised, the U.S. labor force actually shrunk by 13 percent. Although Obama claimed that raising the minimum wage would help the middle class, it doesn’t impact heads of households. Instead, it punishes the most vulnerable part of the workforce: unskilled workers, young people, and minorities because employers begin laying off workers, stop hiring, and cut back on hours,” said Neal.
Dr. Roffman agreed and proposed that it’s a mistake to link the minimum wage to a living wage.
“The minimum wage was designed to help get young people into the workforce, but when the minimum wage is increased, teens are the first people to feel the brunt. Obama talks about wanting to help the average guy, but the minimum wage doesn’t help them. Due to the uncertainty of Obama’s economic programs, ironically corporate profits are up 20 percent but the disposable income of the average person has risen only 1 percent,” said Dr. Roffman. “In effect the President is actually hurting those he claims he’s trying to “help.”
“Obama talks about the $9.00 minimum wage as if that should be the goal of this government. We need to be creating good paying jobs, so we don’t see more people, added to the 5 million Americans that have simply stopped looking for work and aren’t even included in the 26 million Americans that are unemployed or underemployed,” concluded Neal.
Joining the show as a first time guest was Dan Epstein, the Executive Director of Cause of Action, a non-partisan organization that uses public advocacy and legal reform tools to ensure greater transparency in government, protect taxpayer interests and promote economic freedom.
Epstein and his group are representing California-based XP Vehicles, alleging that the Energy Department’s $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program denied XP Vehicles $55 million in technology loans in favor of giving billions to companies with political ties to the Obama administration, including Tesla and Fisker. What was worse, according to Epstein, is that the government actually shared XP Vehicles’ proprietary technology with its competitors violating confidentiality.
“The purpose of the DOE’s Green energy program was to help create U.S. jobs, but many of those receiving loans actually outsourced the work to foreign countries. What is clear is that companies with ties to the Obama administration were favored in getting U.S. government money. In fact, a study we conducted found that 95 percent of companies that received government assistance had donated to politicians or to the Democratic Party. On the other hand, only 32 percent of companies received money if they hadn’t made political contributions,” related Epstein, who added that one of the companies that received federal money turned around and sold their company to France, which also eliminated U.S. jobs.
The conclusion, according to Epstein, is that companies that received money had to spend money.
“When small U.S. companies have to sue the federal government to get a fair shake, that’s the height of cronyism. That’s a national disgrace,” said Neal.
Made in America’s final guest was first time guest Dan Barton, an American entrepreneur and a co-author of “Stop Your Bitchin’ and Start Making Real Money: The Honest Truth of What It Takes to Succeed in the Pet Industry.”
Barton told listeners that the pet industry is a $53 billion enterprise; double the $31 billion American toy industry. American consumers spend $1 billion a week on their pets and the industry has grown annually throughout the economic downturn.
“Even though big box stores like Wal-Mart have grown their pet aisles from one to three or four, there is still opportunity for small mom-and-pop independent pet stores. The key is for them to carry specialty products, like dehydrators that can make natural pet foods,” said Barton.
Dr. Roffman and Neal continued their ongoing segment on government waste and cronyism.
Dr. Roffman began the discussion by wondering how the TSA was able to procure $50 million for new uniforms just before sequestration was set to take hold. “That’s more money per unit than is spent on uniforms for the U.S. Marine Corp. When you look into it, you find that the uniform contract was awarded to VF Corporation, a $9 billion apparel and footwear powerhouse. Interestingly, XP will outsource some of the manufacturing to Mexico to achieve cheaper labor cost—at the expense of US jobs. And like XP Vehicles, a small Louisville clothing manufacturer is asking the government why it awarded a clothing contact to a company that will outsource some of the work to foreign countries against the regulations for awarding government contracts,” noted Dr. Roffman. “Although apparently legal, through a legal loophole, why give up jobs at home in favor of shipping them off shore? This is something for all of us to keep an eye on over the next few weeks.”
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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