Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 44 stations) by proposing that with 54 million Americans unemployed or underemployed, this nation is creating a subclass of workers.
“We have the administration and media high-fiving about creating 175,000 jobs when we need at least 250,000 just to keep up with population growth. But the jobs we are creating are largely unskilled and low pay. That’s not sustainable especially when many Americans see their life destination as being able to get on welfare, collect food stamps, or go on permanent disability,“ said Neal.
Joining the show was Lance Roberts, Chief Strategist, Street Talk Advisors, who blamed the media for hiding the true scope of unemployment by posting the new job numbers as if they were some kind of achievement, when they actually represent low paying service jobs — the majority of which are part-time.
“What we’re seeing is a pull back from creating good paying full-time jobs. Companies are job-hording—maintaining their current level of employment without any dramatic upswing in jobs, or converting full-time jobs to part-time jobs,” said Roberts.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman suggested that when the country doesn’t face up to the disparity on the job numbers, it’s like a doctor knowing you have cancer but won’t tell you about it. It’s going to be fatal, in this case, to our economy.
Roberts proposed that when we have a stagnant population, it is accompanied by a stagnant economy because it can’t sustain consumer spending to grow the economy. Jobs must grow faster than the population.
“People think that the Fed is having an impact on job creation by lowering interest rates, but they are actually hurting matters. Lower interest rates won’t convince a company to go out and start hiring. The Fed thinks it has one purpose: to inflate asset prices, which really is not a substitute for a fiscal policy,” noted Roberts.
Neal and Dr. Roffman moved onto a discussion regarding the tenuous relationship the U.S. has with China.
“There is a place in the world for a strong China and a strong America. China is assuming the role of the head master while the U.S. is perceived as the schoolboy. If you want to see this interplay in action, just look at the California summit between President Obama and Xi Jinping, where Obama addressed Cyber Security, completely clueless that NSA leaker, Edward Snowden — America’s biggest turncoat since Benedict Arnold– was stowed away in Hong Kong, fair game for interrogation and revelations about further security secrets. I’m sure Xi Jinping and his staff were secretly laughing at Obama. You can sense that China doesn’t respect Obama,” said Neal.
Dr. Roffman added that it is a slap in the face of all Americans that China holds military drills just off our shores.
“China is outsmarting us. This administration can’t see what is happening on the horizon. They are clueless. Without talking points, Obama has no depth of knowledge about this relationship,” added Dr. Roffman.
As further proof of China’s desire to take the lead on the global stage, Neal noted that China is building an alternative to the Panama Canal in Nicaragua.
“What can be more symbolic to America’s prestige in the Western Hemisphere (and the world) than the Panama Canal, one of the greatest engineering feats of all time? Yet, China has little regard for this old technology, pursuing instead an initiative that says to America that we are the future and you are the past,” suggested Neal.
Joining the show was Peter Morici, American Macroeconomist and Professor of International Business at the University of Maryland, who warned about the consolidation and purchase of small community banks by national banks that make loans without understanding the communities they are serving.
“We are seeing banks make risky loans because they don’t know their customers. They lack the money to make the kind of loans that will grow their bank, and opt for lending money to local companies without the necessary cash flow. These inherently unstable loans will come back to hurt them if interest rates got up or down. Either way, the bank will experience a financial loss that will hurt the stability of the community,” said Morici.
The final guest on Made in America was Dr. Steve Camarota, Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies, who suggested that the flow of illegal immigrants merely increases the supply of workers at the bottom end of the labor force who lack the skills and education to move up in the labor force.
“What we’re seeing in this country is that workers without an education are making less and less money. In 2000, 74 percent had a high school degree. Now that number is 64 percent. That’s why we have 60 million unemployed or underemployed Americans, with half of them with no education beyond high school. We have plenty of workers for low level jobs,” proposed Dr. Camarota.
Dr. Roffman added that even with the flood of unskilled workers into this country, the SEIU has launched a campaign to encourage more immigrants to come to the U.S.
Neal and Dr. Roffman continued their ongoing segment on government waste and cronyism, and highlighted how cronyism is impacting job creation.
Dr. Roffman actually began the discussion with an example of reverse cronyism, detailing how Miles Electric Vehicles Ltd. withdrew its application for $250 million in federal aid when they realized that their electric operation wan untenable. The company is going bankrupt –laying off all of its workers– taking with it $344 million in private equity. “But at least they aren’t going down with taxpayer money,” said Dr. Roffman.
On the other hand, West, Texas, destroyed by a fertilizer plant explosion that leveled the town and killed 10 first responders, had the misfortune of lacking the clout in Washington to get the funding it needs from FEMA to rebuild their town, especially their school that was destroyed. The nail in their coffin is that Texas governor Rick Perry is far from a favorite of the Obama administration.
“If you’ve got a friend in the White House, you get the money. If you’re not, you’re out of luck. That’s cronyism,” concluded 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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