Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 45 stations) with his assertion that the Obama administration must stop imposing regulations that cost U.S. businesses $1.8 trillion a year, which not hurts growth but derails hiring. Specifically, he took aim at a new version of Cap and Trade, which was so unpopular, that it was voted down by both parties
Joining the show was first-time guest Michael Bastasch, who wrote a piece for The Daily Caller entitled “Obama administration raises the ‘social cost’ of CO2.”
He suggested that: “The White House Office of Management and Budget raised the social cost of carbon — a monetary estimate of the damages caused by carbon emissions — from $21 per metric ton to $35 per metric ton, which some experts say could allow the White House to move forward with greenhouse gas limits on power plants.”
Bastasch contended that this will allow the Obama administration to impose carbon taxes on coal-fired power plants without going through Congress. This is another indication that environmental groups have successfully painted coal as the “evil pollutant.”
“Even some Democrats, especially the governors of West Virginia and Kentucky, have urged Obama to stop this initiative from moving forward,” said Bastasch.
Neal reminded listeners that coal supports some 7 million jobs in the U.S.
“This White House push is a well-timed political move designed to protect votes,” concluded Bastasch.
Neal and co-host Dr. Rich Roffman moved onto a discussion about another regulation that is negatively impacting the country: Obamacare.
“You have to ask if Obamacare is going to help U.S. business, as the White House contends, then why are they pushing the employer mandate back to 2015? Even the Democrats know that this bill is unpopular, especially among businesses with over 50 employees who will have to cover all their employees. Everybody knows that with 2014 being an election year, pushing back the mandate to 2015 will give the Democrats some political cover,” suggested Neal.
Co-host Dr. Roffman agreed, adding that the Republicans have already labelled this move “deviously brilliant.”
“Obamacare is changing the way companies hire. Wal-Mart is hiring more part-time employees to reduce their Obamacare exposure. How can any company plan for the future when they don’t know what their health insurance costs will be? Let’s face it– Americans don’t want Obamacare,” concluded Dr. Roffman. “Even the NFL has refused to endorse the program.”
Joining the show as a first-time guest was Vincent Vittorio, one of the directors of American Made Movie, a feature-length film that looks back on the glory days of U.S. manufacturing and highlights the successes of American companies and entrepreneurs that chose to retain their manufacturing operations In America.
“Americans have done great things in manufacturing, and we want to focus on the American worker and American innovation. When American companies stay home, they create jobs, and tap into a great work force. So we are asking why more U.S. companies don’t choose to remain in the U.S. instead of moving overseas. Companies like New Balance, which is the only athletic shoe manufacturer with all of its operations in America,” said Vittorio.
While Vittorio credited some foreign car manufacturers that have built manufacturing facilities in the U.S. to take advantage of U.S. innovation and productive U.S. workers, he still thinks that Detroit continues to be a car town. But he doesn’t believe that a city like Detroit can prosper when so much industry is tied to one commodity. He hopes that Detroit will successfully diversify into other industries while retaining its car manufacturing operations.
Vittorio intends to create a national bus tour to 32 cities where he can pre-screen the film in communities where the local business was covered in the film or an area with a strong manufacturing base. The film is opening nationally on August 30.
For more information visit theamericanmademovie.com.
Neal and Dr. Roffman continued their ongoing segment on government waste and cronyism, and highlighted how cronyism is impacting job creation.
Dr. Roffman began the discussion with the story of Mayor Carl Brewer of Wichita, Kansas who received state and federal tax subsidies to build an IMAX theater, and proceeded to set up a grocery shop inside the theater’s café, which would only sells Brewer’s BBQ sauce.
“Then we have HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who is paying the Los Angeles School system $1,000,000 so that school children can be taught the basics of Obamacare and then sell it in to their families and neighborhood. Little automatons pushing Obamacare, for the mere cost of $1,000,000 in tax payer money,” 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.
JUL
