Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 45 stations) by wondering aloud why if Obamacare is so good, why is it being delayed? The answer, of course, is that it’s a political ploy.
Neal’s first guest was Avik Roy, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute and Editor at Forbes, who reminded listeners that only Obamacare’s employer mandate was being delayed. Roy attributes the delay to an outcry from both big and small businesses that they can’t meet the deadlines; and that even the administration recognized that trying to meet the mandate’s record keeping will be a logistical nightmare.
“Obamacare is going to be a complete mess, just as Medicaid was when it was introduced in 1965. It costs $450 billion a year, and does not make anyone healthier. And then there is Medicare, which costs $1 trillion a year. For every dollar put in, three are taken out. Both programs are fiscally unsustainable,” said Roy.
Roy proposes that the employer mandate should be repealed. It offers no incentives for employers to hire, but instead, causes employers to fire employees or convert them to part-time. He suggested that if the employer mandate was repealed even Democrats would vote for it.
“Employers should recognize that instead of paying for their employee’s health insurance; give them more money so they can buy their own coverage. It will be cheaper for employees and save employers billions of dollars,” concluded Roy.
Neal and co-host Dr. Roffman segued to a discussion about Detroit’s bankruptcy –the largest municipal bankruptcy in history.
“It’s interesting that a judge — a Democrat—has ruled against the bankruptcy because it might deprive union members of their pension. Of course unions are the reason that Detroit’s car companies got into trouble in the first place. But let’s face it, Detroit is out of options, If you can’t pay your bills, an orderly restructuring will help get your finances in order,’ said Neal.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman agreed, noting that Detroit is $18 billion in debt. And that the federal government is doing everything it can to protect unions.
“You had Obama bailing out the car companies, which turned out to have been one of the contributing factors that helped sink Detroit’s economy. If they had let the car companies go into an orderly restructuring, as Romney suggested, they would have emerged stronger by voiding the costly union contracts that got them into trouble in the first place,” proposed Dr. Roffman.
Joining the show as a first-time guest was Fred Smith, Founder and Chairman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Contributor to Forbes Magazine. In a recent piece in Forbes, he suggested that Dickens’ unpopular character Ebenezer Scrooge, has gotten a bad rap.
“Scrooge is always portrayed as selfish and greedy, but in reality, by making painful and unpopular decisions, he kept his company viable and gave a job to Bob Cratchit when the economy in London was in dire straits. By harnessing his resources he took the steps to keep his company from going under like many others at the time. In 50 years, some people may look at Scrooge as a successful entrepreneur who recognized that by not overextending his company you can retain a viable business, give jobs to employees, and protect the entire community from poverty,” concluded Smith.
The final guest on Made in America was Nicholas Boillot, CEO of the HB Agency, who discussed the role that viral marketing plays in selling products or services.
“You Tube footage, blog content and other on-line marketing tactics are part of viral marketing. The key to viral marketing is having enough content on the website so you can test which messages resonate and which don’t. But often the CEO wants to be editor in chief, which usually results in a bottleneck in approvals. The more people involved who can create the right content and messaging, the more effective it will be. Create content and see what happens; those things that work should be enhanced and improved,” advised Boillot.
Neal and Dr. Roffman concluded the show by returning to the topic of cronyism and its impact on job creation.
“The proposed immigration bill is a real slap for U.S. citizens, which actually gives preface to illegal immigrants who receive a blue card and don’t have to comply with Obamacare. U.S. workers will have to comply, which means that employers will give preference to illegals over natural citizens because it will save them money,” said Dr. Roffman.
Dr. Roffman also relayed another example of cronyism, whereby Cecilia Muñoz the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and former White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs has received $20 million for her organization, National Council of La Raza.
“The government has a $300 million slush fund to help illegal immigrants gain citizenship. And it’s no coincidence that with Muñoz’ connections that her organization will receive at least $20 million, or as much as $40 million,” said Dr. Roffman.
“Once again, cronyism robs the American taxpayer,” concluded Neal.
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.
JUL
