Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 45 stations) by expressing his astonishment that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) admitted what most people have suspected all along, that their major job was to help workers unionize – one of the chief impediments to job creation.
Neal’s first guest was Trey Kovacs, a Policy Analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. He focuses on economic impacts of labor and finance policy.
He is an advocate for not only making over the NLRB but getting rid of it completely.
“Our labor policy has to get back to restoring workers their free choice whether they want to unionize, instead of being coerced. Fewer than 10 percent of workers in a union today voted to become union members. And once a union is installed in a company it is almost impossible to remove it,” said Kovacs.
Kovacs characterizes the NLRB as a kangaroo court where employers almost never win labor disputes. He wants states play the chief role in labor so that workers can return to free elections and to voluntary unionization.
Neal and co-host Dr. Roffman segued to a discussion on the Obama administration’s propensity for playing fast and loose with numbers, which he calls “economic fiction.”
“Even bankers I’ve talked to believe that the unemployment rate is 7.6 percent when most people know that it is at least triple that. Then you have Obama releasing the fact that the GDP has climbed to 3 percent from 1.7 percent, even though the growth is entirely attributed to a recalculation of the GDP rate. No progress is really happening, and millions of people still have no jobs,” said Neal.
Dr. Roffman agreed, adding that you can get a real glimpse of the sad job picture when Kelly Services, a temporary staffing agency, is the second fastest growing company in America.
“”People are out of touch. Now you have Wal-Mart coming to Washington D.C. to build three stores that would employ some 2,000 workers, most of whom are African Americans whose unemployment rate is in double digit figures. Instead of a green light, the city wants to impose a minimum wage rate that’s $5.00 per hour more than the current legal rate; that is essentially shutting down any store planning and job creation.
Joining the show as a first-time guest was John LeBoutillier, an American political columnist, pundit, and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.
LeBoutillier reminded listeners of the time when a worker with a high school diploma could get a job in a car factory, buy a house, have two cars, and take annual vacations. Now that is nearly impossible.
Neal shared the sobering news that while there are 144 million Americans working, only 116 million, or 47 percent, are employed full-time
“This government’s mandates are driving up the cost of labor, which means fewer employers are hiring. And that doesn’t even take into account the impact of Obamacare. We know that 60 percent of Americans don’t like Obamacare,” said LeBoutillier.
He added that while employment figures are improving we still need to add at least 250,000 jobs a month to keep pace with our needs. The current rate of employment, and the bickering among Congress, is unsustainable, concluded LeBoutillier.
The final guest on Made in America was return guest Gretchen Hamel, the Executive Director of Public Notice. At Public Notice, Hamel leads a team of communications and policy experts in their effort to explain complex economic, regulatory, and budget issues to Americans.
She proposed that the farm bill, which was voted down the first time it went to Congress this year, should be the last time the farm bill is ever voted on again.
“The farm bill was supposed to be a safety net for small farmers, at a time when the majority of American workers were involved in agriculture or ranching. Now that figure is less than two percent, with the majority of farming being taken over by rich corporations who are grabbing federal money. Even one dozen members of Congress from farm states are getting subsidies from the farm bill,” proposed Hamel.
She expects that by splitting the farm bill into two parts – one devoted just to the SNAP food stamp program, which is riddled with waste, fraud and abuse – that it will be passed.
Neal and Dr. Roffman concluded the show by returning to the topic of cronyism and its impact on job creation.
“Remember Solyndra, the solar panel company that lost $528 million in federal funding? Even though no one can account for the money loss, the founder, Chris Gronet, a big Obama donor, is no longer being investigated,” noted Dr. Roffman.
And another Obama friend who went astray when it comes to money management – John Corzine—who can’t explain where he lost $1.2 billion as president of MF Global, has a free “Get out of Jail card.”
Dr. Roffman noted that being an Obama donor and supporter usually brings dividends. For example, 18 new ambassadorships are being given to Obama “bundlers” that have no experience in the Foreign Service. The poster child is Matthew Barzun, who raised $500,000 for Obama and was given the plumb ambassadorship to Great Britain.
“The worst part of all of this corruption is that the money goes right back to the coffers of the Democratic Party so this cronyism can continue,” 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
