Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 44 stations) by
alerting listeners to a growing culture of corruption within the Obama administration, characterized by the revelation that the IRS
was auditing groups affiliated with the Tea Party movement. Neal emphasized that corruption leads to cronyism, which in turn, leads to job destruction.
Neal’s first guest was Republican Congressman Scott Tipton, who represents Colorado’s third district.
Tipton suggested that all Americans should be outraged about the IRS audits and the ongoing practice of the government to use
punitive tax codes to punish small businesses – the nation’s job creators. He characterized the IRS as “out on control.”
“This government’s agenda is to stifle free speech against anyone who disagrees with its policies. They use government as a weapon —
a heavy hand that targets Americans without any admission of guilt,” proposed Tipton.
Tipton is disturbed that Sarah Ingram, who is nominated to head up the Obamacare office, was also in charge of the IRS audits
that targeted Tea Party-affiliated organizations. He predicted that as the investigation continues and uncovers more information,
more individuals will come to light and the investigation will go high up within the Obama administration.
Neal and Dr. Rich Roffman segued to a discussion about the upcoming Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which manages trade between the U.S. and the 27-nation European Union – accounting for one-third of all world trade.
“It’s about time Obama moved forward on a free trade agreement, especially since he has not initiated a single free trade agreement, although he likes to take credit for the free trade agreements signed with Panama, South Korea and Colombia – which were all initiated and negotiated by the previous Administration,” said Neal.
Dr. Roffman pointed the finger at trade unions as the main cause for more trade agreements not being signed. But after Obama rewarded them with compensation, he agreed to pass the trade agreements.
“Any time this administration says they are ready to move forward on something, it’s usually more of a photo op. If he’s really an
advocate of free trade, let him move forward on the EU agreement,” challenged Dr. Roffman.
Joining the show was return guest Dan Epstein, 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 urged listeners to follow the case of Thomas E. Perez, President Barack Obama’s nominee for labor secretary, who is accused
of twisting the legal process in three cases in St. Paul, Minn., to suit his political purposes.
“As head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Perez is involved in an apparent quid pro quo with the city of St. Paul
where he persuaded St. Paul to drop an appeal to the Supreme Court in a fair housing case while the Justice Department agreed to
withdraw its support for a whistle-blower complaint alleging that St. Paul had falsely certified to the federal government that it had complied with certain housing regulations. Just what role Mr. Perez had in that decision is a matter of some dispute,” said Epstein, who added that this sets a bad precedent for punishing whistleblowers that see corruption and report it.
Epstein suggested that when Obama talked about hope and change, one of these changes was supposed to be a more opaque government, but instead it has secretly retaliated against whistleblowers, which Epstein predicts is alienating the progressive groups that supported Obama.
The final guest on Made in America was Edward Pinto, a Resident Fellow for the American Enterprise Institute. He was formerly an
executive vice president and chief credit officer for Fannie Mae until the late 1980s, so he lent his expertise to a discussion about the
emergence of the “Government Mortgage Complex”, where the government has taken over housing in the U.S.
Neal Asbury commented that if it were up to him, he would put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into receivership and let the private
sector handle housing – an idea that met with approval from Pinto.
“When it comes to housing the government is the cause of the problem, not the solution. We can’t have 20 entities involved on these
decisions, because the government distorts the allocation of capital and cannot price risk,” said Pinto.
Pinto suggested that when Congress stepped in to rectify the problem by passing the Safety and Soundness Act, things didn’t get safer or sounder, and drove Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae into bankruptcy.
Neal and Dr. Roffman concluded the show by returning to the topic of cronyism and how it wastes money and delays job creation. Neal
noted that corruption ultimately leads to a one party system, where cronies receive money and then pass it back to the ruling party. Neal noted that Japan tried this system and it has brought the country to its knees.
Dr. Roffman turned his attention to the topic of wind farms, which receive favorable treatment from the White House. But now the progressives that pushed for wind energy are aghast that the turbines have killed four dozen endangered golden eagles and thousands of bats that ran into the swirling blades. Yet, the EPA has not fined any of them, while electric companies have been fined many thousands of dollars when animals touch high voltage wires and are electrocuted. Same for the big oil companies.
“You may not have noticed that during Obama’s most recent press conference the first journalist he called on was Julianna Goldman, a Bloomberg anchor, whose parents happen to be very large Obama donors. A coincidence? I think not,” said Dr. Roffman.
And finally, Dr. Roffman wondered why while the IRS is auditing companies applying for 501-C-3 charity tax emptions and holding
approvals up for months or years, President Obama’s brother received immediate approval for his 501-C-3 application—even
though the State of Virginia can’t seem to figure out exactly what the foundation actually does.
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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